


Sweet Pandemonium

by Kashoku



Series: Such is the Rule of Honor [3]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Anxiety, Borderline Personality Disorder, Dark!Yuuri, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Forced Bonding, Kidnapping, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mentions of Brothels, Mpreg, Multi, Murder, Omega!Yuuri, Power Bottom Yuuri, Psychological Drama, Rape, Secondary Gender Discrimination, Violence, Yakuza, mafia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2018-10-30 01:38:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 14
Words: 50,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10866345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kashoku/pseuds/Kashoku
Summary: Another gold medal and world championship had been added to his resume, and yet, Viktor felt no more accomplished than he had when he had slipped on his first pair of skates. Being Viktor Nikiforov was exhausting and Viktor didn’t want to be him anymore. When the head of the Yakuza kidnaps and forces Viktor to bond, he thinks his journey for life and love is over. Little does he know he finds himself drawn more and more into the sweet pandemonium of the beautiful omega mafia leader known as Katsuki Yuuri.(Companion fic to Omerta, reversed roles)Finnish Translation:HereINCOMPLETE/ABANDONED!!!!!!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> And you guys thought all the Omerta fun was done, didn't you? Well, it sort of is. This fic is not set in the same verse, but it is the same sort of AU with the roles reversed this time. I know I said I wasn't going to post this until Panta Rhei was done, but jesus shoot me ok? I'm a big fat liar. 
> 
> Strap up, lads and ladies! You are in for a ride!

Viktor let out a heavy sigh as his fingertips touched the cool glass of the champagne flute and he brought it to his lips to take a large gulp. Another gold medal and world championship had been added to his resume, and yet, Viktor felt no more accomplished than he had when he had slipped on his first pair of skates. He was tired. Tired of having the weight of the world on his shoulders, tired of the pressures to always surprise his audience and stay inspired, tired of having to wine and dine sponsors and judges who cared nothing about Viktor Nikiforov the person and only Viktor Nikiforov the five time world champion and olympic medalist.

 

Being Viktor Nikiforov was exhausting and Viktor didn’t want to be him anymore.

 

“The banquet just started and already you look like you’d rather be anywhere else in the world.”

 

Pausing with an h'orderve halfway to his mouth Viktor shifted his eyes to the speaker who had just joined him. A local, clearly Japanese, with slicked back black hair and beautiful cinnamon eyes. The suit he wore was obviously designer and perfectly tailored to his slim waist. He was far too young to be an ISU official and was not a competitor. Who, then? “Maybe not anywhere, but I could certainly think of at least a hundred places I’d rather be.”

 

“Only a hundred?” His lips drew up into a smirk and he tilted his head back exposing his neck in a long, slender line.

 

Viktor swallowed hard. It was a distinctly omega move, but this man emitted a strong alpha aura. What was he? “I-I’m sorry I don’t believe we’ve met?”

 

“No,” he agreed, holding out a hand. “Katsuki Yuuri. I sponsored some of the recent renovations to the stadium.”

 

Taking the proffered hand, Viktor shook it firmly. A sponsor, then....he still looked far too young to have that sort of money. An inheritance, perhaps? “Are you a fan of figure skating, then, Katsuki-san?”

 

“Just Yuuri, please,” Yuuri corrected. “And I am a fan of _you,_ Viktor.”

 

Viktor almost choked on the h’orderve he had finally pulled off the toothpick into his mouth. There were likely many in the room at this moment that felt that way, but none of them would likely be so forward about it. “Well, you and all five-hundred-thousand of my instagram followers.”

 

“No, they are a fan of the Viktor who skates,” Yuuri corrected, locking eyes with Viktor and taking a small sip of his champagne, “Not the Viktor who is an avid poodle lover and enjoys poetry and the opera.”

 

Blinking in surprise Viktor disposed of his now bare toothpick. “Do you like dogs, Yuuri?”

 

“Of course,” he smiled gently. “I have a poodle of my own. He is much smaller than your Makkachin, though. Do you have any pictures of your dog with you? I’ve only ever seen the few in magazines.”

 

Here Viktor stood, in a room filled of people who were only interested in what his plans were for the next season, and yet he had somehow drawn the attention of someone who was only interested in seeing photos of his dog. How quickly Viktor’s face changed from a gloomy frown to a dazzling grin. “Yes! I have hundreds!” Pulling out his phone he began scrolling through some of his favorites. “She’s getting older, but she still has a lot of energy. I think she looks the cutest when she sleeps, though. You said you have a poodle? Do you have photos?”

 

Yuuri reached into a pocket and pulled out his own phone which sported a case with tiny blue poodles all over it. How cute! “His name is Vicchan. He’s getting a little old, too. I got him not long after you got Makkachin.”

 

“Oh, how cute!” Viktor beamed, cooing at a photo of a toy poodle. “Do you think he and Makkachin would be friends?”

 

“I don’t know,” Yuuri chuckled, “but maybe we’ll find out one day.”

 

Viktor felt himself blush at the underlying hint of the comment and he winked. “Is this your way of flirting with me, Yuuri?”

 

This time, Yuuri blushed and averted his gaze. “I don’t know. Is it working?”

 

“Well,” Viktor laughed, “I think the fact I have yet to entertain the company of anyone else in this room should speak for itself. It’s nice, sometimes, to talk about something other than skating.”

 

“I do imagine it gets boring for you,” Yuuri hummed in agreement. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate your skating, Viktor, but your technical perfection on the ice is not what makes you interesting to me.”

 

Curious...Viktor set down his glass and squared his shoulders towards Yuuri. “And what does make me interesting to you, Yuuri?”

 

Mimicking Viktor’s actions, Yuuri placed a hand just shy of Viktor’s, their fingertips briefly brushing up against one another. “It’s the way you can communicate emotion so...completely...through your movements. Your performance yesterday was far from your most technically proficient, yet it was certainly the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. I could feel the sorrow and longing in your dance that so perfectly matched the emotion of the aria. It took my breath away.”

 

Viktor let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, his eyes locked on Yuuri’s, completely drowning in the brown pools. He should have felt offended, being told that it wasn’t technical perfection, but instead he felt thankful. Thankful that someone had seen how he had been hurting - that someone had looked past the record setting performance for what it truly was.

 

“Tell me, Viktor,” Yuuri laid his hand on top of his and took a step forward. “What is it you’re longing for?”

 

With a furious rhythm Viktor felt his heart beating in his chest and the blood rushing to his ears. Yuuri was several inches shorter than him, but Viktor felt like he was being completely overshadowed in that moment. “Life,” Viktor breathed out in a whisper where only Yuuri could hear. God, why did this man smell so amazing right now? With a boost of confidence he entwined his fingers with Yuuri’s on the table. “Love.”

 

Yuuri leaned up, standing on his toes, so that Viktor’s nose was hovering over his gland with a tilt. “Would you like to get out of here, Viktor?”

 

Closing his eyes, Viktor breathed in deeply - cherry blossoms in full bloom and and the salt of the sea. _Omega._ A hot tingle danced from his fingertips to his chest and down to his toes. Viktor had always been one who had a firm leash on his alpha, never submitting to his desires or urges and certainly never allowing omegas to have such a large effect on him when working in an industry built by them. But Yuuri had woken his alpha, and his alpha wanted.

 

“Yes,” Viktor breathed, and he allowed himself to be tugged along behind Yuuri as they weaved between the crowd. No one tried to stop them, and little people even took notice of their departure for which he was incredibly thankful for. Viktor didn’t want to be stopped or interrupted. He couldn’t wait to be alone with this intoxicating omega.

 

The moment they were alone in the elevator their lips collided, Yuuri knocking his back into the wall and wedging a knee between the alpha’s legs. Mouths opened in welcome invitation and tongues licked across slick teeth. Yuuri bit down on Viktor’s lower lip and tugged, brown eyes meeting his under dark eyelashes. The way he pulled back and then let loose with a lick of his lips had Viktor immediately hard beneath his slacks.

 

Yuuri slipped a hand around Viktor’s tie and yanked hard, lips hovering right over the other man’s. “Do you want me, Viktor?”

 

Oh god. Viktor was pretty sure he was in love. _“Yes.”_

 

“Does your _alpha,_ ” he cupped a firm hand around Viktor’s hardened cock, “Want me?”

 

“Yes!” He squeaked, jumping from the sudden touch. Viktor was fairly certain he had never wanted anything more in his life.

 

The door to the elevator dinged and the doors opened. Yuuri smirked and slowly started to back up and off, tugging Viktor along by his tie. “Well, then, you’re just in luck, because you can have me.”

 

Viktor didn’t want to wait to get into the room. He was slamming Yuuri into the wall, lifting his smaller frame so that they were even and crushing their lips together. Yuuri immediately wrapped his legs around the alpha’s hips and ground against him with perfect precision.

 

“Room 4-415,” Yuuri breathed in between kisses, fingers tangling in silver locks.

 

Somehow, Viktor managed to stumble down the hall without dropping Yuuri and keeping his mouth latched on sweet and tangy skin. There were a few instances where he had to stop and readjust. Viktor made sure to brush himself up against Yuuri in the process. When they finally reached the appropriate room Yuuri tilted back his head and let out a pleasant sigh, bearing his neck for Viktor to see. The flesh was smooth and unmarred - the gland showing no signs of ever having been marked.

 

“Are you going to let me down or are you going to search my pants for the key?” Yuuri asked, lowering his chin and smoothing his hands from Viktor’s neck to his broad shoulders.

 

Viktor licked his lips, but slowly lowered Yuuri to the floor. “I might get distracted by other things I find in your pants if I did that.”

 

“Oh,” Yuuri purred, pulling out the white card key and flashing it against the lock and opening it with a hand behind his back. “Maybe I’d like that.”

 

“God, Yuuri, you are amazing,” Viktor spoke in awe, following him into the rom as the door was pushed open. Kicking the door shut behind him he latched a hand onto Yuuri’s neck and started kissing him again. His hand brushed the collar aside and he paused as his eyes caught a glimpse of dark ink exposed as the cloth was pushed away. A red flag suddenly started waving furiously in the back of his mind. “Yuuri-,”

 

Viktor couldn't complete the question, a wet rag covering his mouth and nose as he was forcefully pulled away from Yuuri. His first instinct as an alpha was to tell the omega to run - to find safety. But Yuuri stood there calm and collected as Viktor struggled, hands smoothing out his rumpled suit jacket and shirt. Those pretty cinnamon eyes that Viktor had been drowning in had turned dark.

 

Yuuri said something in Japanese, his voice sounding so distant as Viktor felt his body start to grow weak and his consciousness slip. Drugs. He’d been drugged. Of course. Of course it had all been fake. How could anyone ever truly want Viktor for the person and not the skater…? The last thing Viktor thought of before he fell to the darkness was how much money this man would ask for his release.

 

/*/

 

Viktor was on fire. His skin felt like he was bathing in flames and the air was so hot he couldn’t breathe. With a gasp he woke, eyes flying open in panic. Viktor could feel his heart beating in his chest, trying to escape with its fast pace. When he tried to sit up he was stopped by a tight tug on his shoulders.

 

He was bound to the headboard.

 

The alpha’s panic increased and he realized he was completely naked and his length was flushed dark red with arousal. He was going into rut. Viktor wasn’t due for a rut for another month. They had slipped him alphazine. It was the only explanation.

 

_Why?!_

 

This was just for money, wasn’t it? To hold him for ransom? Was this just made to embarrass him and make him feel vulnerable? Or were they going to do something like take photos and videos and threaten to leak them to the internet? Viktor groaned angrily, bucking his hips up into the air desperate for some sort of release.

 

The door to the room opened and Viktor tilted his head up. The scent hit him hard - the scent of an omega in heat. The scent of cherry blossoms and the ocean. Yuuri was dressed in a loose robe, his hair still slicked back. He walked calmly over to the bed, but Viktor could see the sheen of sweat on his brown and his shaking hand. It was taking everything for him not to lose it.

 

Viktor whined, pulling at the bounds in a poor attempt to reach out for the omega, his alpha going wild. “What have you done to me? Why are you doing this?”

 

Yuuri didn’t say anything, reaching for the tie of his robe with trembling fingers and dropping the silk fabric to pool around his feet. Ink decorated his skin from his shoulders to his wrists, down the entirety of his back, and all around his thighs to just above his knees. His chest and stomach remained untouched. The intricate drawings weren’t of the dragons and samurai warriors Viktor had always heard about the Yakuza being so fond of, but instead of the very things the canvas smelled of. Even in his panic, Viktor found his breath being stolen away by the omega beside him.

 

“I have worked hard my entire life to prove that omegas do not need alphas,” Yuuri started, voice wavering in his attempts to keep himself under control. Viktor could not only see the slick glisten between his legs, but he could smell it, too. “And I don’t. I don’t _need_ you. But,” he took a step forward, a hand reaching out to touch Viktor but recoiling at the last second, “I still have desires. And when I want something, I get it.”

 

“But I was going to have sex with you!” Viktor blurted out in confusion, his body involuntarily jerking towards where Yuuri had almost touched him. This didn’t make any sense! Yuuri didn’t have to drug him to get what he wanted!

 

“Would you have, though?” Yuuri asked, a trickle of sweat finally falling down the side of his face. He was losing control, his pupils completely dilated. “I felt you twitch when you first noticed my tattoos. Would you have still fucked me when you found out I was Yakuza?” Yuuri started to climb onto the bed, slowly straddling Viktor and sitting just above his crotch. “Would you have still given me your seed so that I could bare your children?” His fingers ran up his own stomach and across his pert nipples. “Would you have let me make you mine? Bond you eternally to me?”

 

Viktor’s body reacted to the omega’s closeness, hips thrusting up and fists clenching in an attempt to touch him. But his mind was swiftly busy putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Yuuri wanted to be _bred_ by him. To force him to mate. “I don’t understand. Please, don’t do this. If it’s money you want -,”

 

Yuuri slammed a hand down on Viktor’s chest angrily, arm trembling as the heat haze grew worse. “I have far more money than you could ever imagine. I have wanted you for a long time, Viktor, and now I will have you.” Lifting up his hips he reached a hand around and let his eyes roll back inside his head with a moan as he began to prepare himself.

 

The drugs were gaining a deeper hold on Viktor, and despite his mind screaming at him to try and fight, to get out of here, he _wanted._ Yuuri looked incredible above him, head tilted to this side to show his neck as he bounced up and down on his fingers. When Yuuri grabbed hold of Viktor with a slicked up hand and guided him to his hole, the alpha knew he was completely gone.

 

A long groan ripped from his throat as he felt himself being engulfed in hot tight heat. _So good, so tight, omega._ Viktor’s alpha wanted so desperately to touch Yuuri and his hands pulled harder against the leather restraints. He needed to touch. He needed to mate.

 

Yuuri rode him with perfection, back arched and tattoos shining under a thin veil of sweat. Several strands of hair started to fall down in front of his face giving him a look of pure innocence. “Alpha. God you feel so good. Need your knot so bad.”

 

Viktor felt a gush of slick run down his cock and between his legs and his nostrils flared. With a howl he used all of his strength to pull at the restraints and the right one snapped violently from the force. Full of momentum, Viktor’s hand grabbed at Yuuri’s face and they were rolling over, Viktor pinning Yuuri beneath him as he gained slack from the restraint on his left hand. Yuuri stared up at Viktor with wide eyes, a glint of fear hiding behind them.

 

That fear made Viktor’s alpha whine in apology, his hand softening on the omega’s face. Their faces were close and Yuuri turned his head, baring his neck. _Protect. Mate. Bond._ His alpha was screaming at him to do it, but his fingers clawed into the sheets to hold back. No matter how badly the alpha wanted to breed and mate this omega, _Viktor_ did not. “S-stop,” he pleaded, gasping for air in the brief moment of regained senses. Yuuri lifted his hips to take Viktor in deeper and stretched his neck even longer, a hand burying in in Viktor’s soft tresses and guiding his lips to his gland at the dip of his shoulder.

 

Stop, Viktor pleaded silently, his entire body quivering as he tried to resist the temptation. But the omega kept nuzzling up against him, taunting him with his swollen gland. Wrapping his legs around Viktor’s hips, Yuuri pulled him in deeper and a soft purr started to vibrate in the back of his throat. Viktor’s tongue flicked out against Yuuri’s skin tasting salt and ginger and he couldn’t help it. It tasted perfect.

 

Slamming his hips hard into Yuuri Viktor bit down on the gland roughly, breaking skin and tasting copper as his alpha completely took hold. The bed creaked as his thrusts increased in pace, shoving Yuuri’s legs back and folding him in half when he was done marking his territory. A smirk danced on Yuuri’s lips between moans, the omega knowing very well he had won.

 

Viktor knew he had started to nail Yuuri’s prostate, the omega letting out loud pants and moving a hand to jerk himself off. It wasn’t long before he was coming in long white ropes against his soft stomach and clenching down hard around Viktor. Grabbing the back of Yuuri’s meaty thighs, Viktor quickened his pace, his knot beginning to swell more and more with each thrust. The other bond finally snapped as he growled out with his climax, cock seated all the way to the base as his knot popped inside Yuuri and coated his walls with cum.

 

Viktor collapsed onto Yuuri, unable to keep himself propped up at all. Yuuri said nothing, lowering his legs down into a more comfortable position and trailing his fingers up and down Viktor’s back. Lovingly. Viktor felt sick, realizing everything that had just happened. This wasn’t ever how it happened in stories. It was never the alpha that was cornered in the alley and pinned down by a crowd of omegas spitting at them and calling them weak. You never heard of an alpha being...Viktor swallowed hard, unable to admit to himself that’s what this was. He’d been kidnapped not for money, but to act as some sort of breeding stock.

 

The bright red crescent shaped wound on Yuuri’s neck stared at Viktor hauntingly, and a slight sting in Viktor’s own neck brought forth the realization that Yuuri had marked him back. Yuuri shifted his hips beneath Viktor and pulled another orgasm from the alpha. With shaky breaths Viktor turned his face away from Yuuri, even though it put a crick in his muscles.

 

Yuuri made no effort to speak as they waited, the omega the one to slip away when Viktor’s knot finally subsided. He knelt down and fetched his robe, Viktor having a clear view of the mess between his legs before he put it on, leaving it untied.

 

“Will you let me go?” Viktor asked, voice sounding raw. “Once I’ve given you a child?”

 

Yuuri froze in his steps towards a master bathroom, slowly turning and flashing Viktor a face that looked _hurt._ “You’d leave your child? Just like that? ….I thought you weren’t like the other alphas. I thought you were better.” Yuuri turned away, but Viktor could see the clenched fists at his side and could hear the change in his tone. “You are my mate, now. You’ll go nowhere I do not allow you to go, and you’ll do nothing I do not allow you to do.” Slipping away into the bathroom, Yuuri slammed the doors shut.

 

Viktor curled his knees to his chest and rolled onto his side, a warm tear trickling down his cheek. The longing for life and love he so desperately craved had been the very longing that had likely taken away the only thing he had ever found any joy in in his life.

 

He may never see the ice again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor felt his heart jump and his gaze lower in submission. Nothing was Viktor’s own any longer. Yuuri could feel everything Viktor was feeling or know when he was telling the slightest of lies. It was the greatest imprisonment of all.

Apparently, a rut induced by illegal drugs only lasted two days. Viktor was eternally grateful for it even though he didn’t remember much after their first time. He’d let his alpha take over the moment Yuuri had come back out of the bathroom. It had been much easier that way. Giving Yuuri what he wanted allowed Viktor to try and find what pleasure he could in the moment, if not only to ease the tension that he had inadvertently caused between them with his comment. 

 

But Viktor was the one who had been kidnapped and raped. Why should he be apologizing for anything?! Still...Yuuri’s words still had stuck with him -  _ I thought you weren’t like the other alphas. I thought you were better.  _ What had he meant by that? Viktor had always considered himself an equal opportunist, a believer that all secondary genders deserved the same amount of respect. Maybe that had been his downfall in the first place - fooling himself into that thought. Clearly he had underestimated what an omega could truly be capable of  _ because _ he was an omega. Maybe Yuuri was right. 

 

_ How frustrating.  _ Groaning, Viktor rolled over in the bed with a frown on his face. Why was this at the forefront of his mind so much?! He should be angry, sad, plotting how to get himself out of this predicament, but he wasn’t doing any of that. Instead, he was laying there worried about potentially having offended his mate. 

 

Mate.

 

A hand reached up to his neck and touched the raw and sensitive skin where Yuuri had dug in his teeth. Maybe that’s why he was feeling this way? Yuuri’s emotions must have been projecting onto him. A logical explanation as strange as it felt. Viktor had never bonded with someone - even temporarily. It was...new.

 

The doors opened and Viktor looked up curiously wondering if Yuuri might finally speak to him. Except it wasn’t Yuuri. This man was shorter with much darker skin - southeast Asian, perhaps? He wore an expensive suit top like Yuuri but instead of long slacks they cut just above his knee. His black eyes sparkled curiously at Viktor.

 

“So it’s true,” he circled the bed, looking Viktor up and down as he sat up against the pillows. “Fuck. Yuuri talked about it forever, but I never thought he’d actually go through with it. I figured he was just joking. That crazy son-of-a-bitch.”

 

Viktor blinked in slight confusion as he sat up against the pillows. This man thought his kidnapping had been a joke? Clearly it had been planned since there had been other men there besides Yuuri. “I don’t understand.”

 

The man laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure you don’t. Yeesh, you reek of rut and  _ Yuuri. _ Could you at least shower?”

 

“Yuuri made it very clear I was to only do as I was told. I figured that meant I had to be granted such permission for things,” Viktor answered with a sigh. He hadn’t seen Yuuri since his rut had ended. Was Yuuri still in heat elsewhere and avoiding him? That wouldn’t make much sense if his motivations were to get pregnant. 

 

“Wow,” he chuckled, “You take this being kidnapped thing so seriously. Somehow I don’t think he meant you couldn’t shower. Can’t have the hottest man in all of Russia and ice skating champion looking frumpy, can we?” The man flopped down onto the edge of the bed right next to Viktor and crossed his legs. His eyes narrowed as he gave Viktor a good look up and down. “You seem pretty relaxed for all of this.”

 

Viktor swallowed and responded with a small shrug. “What else am I supposed to do? He drugged me and tied me down. He forcefully took my knot and marked me. I could run away to the other end of the earth but I’d still belong to him and him to me.”

 

The smaller man seemed even more surprised by this response, placing an index finger to his lips. “Are you like, depressed or something? Because that sort of sounds like you don’t even want to run away. Which sounds like maybe something a depressed person would say. I mean, not that Yuuri isn’t smoking hot and an omega, but like....This isn’t fun at all. You  _ were _ kidnapped and are being held here against your will. Huh. Maybe Yuuri knew what he was doing after all.”

 

_ Are you depressed or something? _

 

Those words were like a rough punch to his chest and Viktor’s breath caught in his throat. The lack of interest in skating, the fake smiles, the purposeful isolation….was that what it was? Depression? “I don’t know what I am, to be honest.”

 

There was silence, the smaller man - a beta, Viktor had guessed - simply swung a leg idly. Finally, he hopped up and smoothed out his suit jacket. “Well. I can certainly say you’ve made this far more interesting to me in the last five minutes. The name’s Phichit.”

 

“Are you part of Yuuri’s mafia family, then?” Viktor questioned. He didn’t seem overly threatening, but then again, neither had Yuuri.

 

Phichit laughed. “Hell no! I’m definitely not Yakuza. I’m not Japanese. I’m just Yuuri’s best friend who sometimes helps with questionable things. Really questionable things. Illegal things. You get the idea. You should shower.”

 

Yeah. Sighing, Viktor threw back the sheets and rose to his feet. His body was covered in a combination of hickeys and bruises. Always a man who was comfortable with his body, Phichit’s eyes on his naked body did little to upset him. It didn’t make the comment any less awkward, though.

 

“Looks like you two had fun,” Phichit huffed. “It’s hard to tell with all the tattoos, but I bet if I got up close and personal Yuuri would look the same.”

 

“And you’re just ok with that?” Viktor immediately bit his tongue, not meaning to have said that outloud. Phichit made him feel comfortable easily, but he was still in a house of Yakuza. There was no telling the guns or knives he might have hidden away that he’d draw on Viktor in an instant.

 

But Phichit merely shrugged. “I get away with giving Yuuri a lot more shit than anyone else, but telling him he was wrong to mate you is not something I’d dare to say to him.” Viktor’s hand was on the door to the bathroom when Phichit went on. “Don’t get me wrong, Viktor, I don’t really agree with what Yuuri did, but it’s all he knows.”

 

Viktor’s eyes narrowed, his head turning slowly to look at Phichit. It’s all he knows.“What do you mean by that?” Was Viktor not the first? But Yuuri clearly had never been bonded before. Even broken bonds left some sort of lasting scent or mark even after they faded. Yuuri’s skin had been completely virginal in that regard. 

 

Phichit’s mouth opened like he might elaborate, but it quickly closed and he shrugged. “Shower. We’ll then get you some food. I’m sure you’re hungry after a rut.”

 

The beta was clearly not going to offer up any more information, so Viktor left him for the bathroom. It was huge and exquisite just like the bedroom. It was full of wood and stone, a much more traditional Japanese decor than the bedroom had. There was a large tub that could easily fit two people and a shower built with glass providing no privacy at all. He supposed neither he nor Yuuri would need it anyway, now. They were mates, after all. 

 

Viktor caught a glance of himself in the mirror, his neck a ripe shade of purple and red where Yuuri had bitten into him. He no longer recognized himself. And yet...something deep down, in a file that tried to stay hidden in his brain, he felt...glad. Averting his gaze he turned his attention to the shower, opening the glass door and stepping in to turn the water on so it could warm up. It was freezing at first, but Viktor hardly flinched. 

 

A sigh finally escaped his lips as the water warmed and soothed his aching muscles. He always felt so sore after a rut, and even though this one had been shorter it was no different - especially since his partner had been so  _ enthusiastic _ . It still hadn’t truly hit that Yuuri’s intention was to make Viktor a father...more so a father he expected to  _ stick around. _ Maybe it was a natural reaction given how Viktor’s father had left not long after he was born. It was all he knew. 

 

_ It’s all he knows. _

 

Viktor’s eyes opened, a waterfall of warm water running into them. Had someone close to Yuuri been kidnapped? Or had Yuuri himself been kidnapped and raped? It wasn’t unheard of, unfortunately. Omegas disappeared all the time.  _ Yuuri. What happened to you?  _ Truthfully, there was no telling. Unimaginable things could have happened given his line of work, and Phichit hadn’t been willing to offer up any clues. Somehow, Viktor couldn’t bring himself to hate and despise the omega. He just wanted to know  _ more. _

 

Finally turning off the water he grabbed a fluffy towel and dried off his hair, eventually wrapping it around his waist to go back into the bedroom. Phichit was sprawled out across the bed with his phone above his face in the air as he scrolled through something. The beta didn’t seem bothered that Viktor and Yuuri had soiled those sheets just hours ago. A set of clothes was set out next to him. Curiously, Viktor stepped forward and had to squint when they came into view. “These...are my clothes.”

 

Phichit lowered his phone and looked over. “Well. Yeah. What did you expect? Why buy all new clothes when you have reasonable tastes already?”

 

Viktor ran a hand down the fabric of the familiar garments. Yuuri had been to his apartment. He knew where he lived and had gathered his clothes. What else had this man done? What else did he know? Everything, likely. As he clothed himself in the familiar button down shirt and capri-styled khakis, Viktor thought how  _ considerate _ it had almost been of Yuuri to retrieve his clothes rather than having bought him new things here in Japan. Familiarity was comforting. 

 

“Come on,” Phichit hopped off the bed. “I’m starving.”

 

Phichit opened the deceiving doors, decorated like a traditional sliding Japanese door but mechanically acting like classical French style doors. The entire house - mansion? - operated much of the same way: a seamless blend of traditional and modern. What struck Viktor as overly strange as they walked barefoot down the halls was the smell. It wasn’t just a trace of omega scent - the walls were bathed in it. If Viktor hadn’t already been mated it would be too strong for him to handle in his right mind. 

 

Sliding two large doors aside Phichit bound into a large dining room.  _ “Ohayou!” _

 

One of the men in the room scoffed, saying something to Phichit in Japanese that made the beta laugh before he plopped down onto a cushion at the low table and dug into a bowl of rice next to Yuuri. 

 

“Sit,” Yuuri instructed, eyes not bothering to look up at Viktor.

 

Viktor hesitated slightly, taking in the lay of the land around him. There were five other men in the room. All of them were omegas and not one used any sort of scent blockers. Why? Were there no other alphas? Viktor started to move forward until a flash of brown caught his eye from the large windows overlooking a garden. 

 

A poodle ran across the yard. 

 

Viktor’s heart did a summersault in his chest until he realized it was far too small to be Makkachin. That’s right. Yuuri had a poodle, too. What would happen to Makkachin, he wondered? Yakov wasn’t the biggest fan of animals, but surely he wouldn’t let anything bad happen the dog. Perhaps he’d find a good new home for him. Yuuri’s dog - Vicchan - let out a happy yip and another dog pounced excitedly. Viktor’s blue eyes went wide and he lunged forward, “Makkachin!”

 

A strong hand stopped Viktor’s advance and he was shoved back, watching as Vicchan playfully tugged at one of Makkachin’s ears. The omega held no fear, going as far as making direct eye contact with Viktor and scowling.

 

“Makkachin is safe and sound,” Yuuri’s cool voice came from the table. “When I am finally confirmed pregnant, then you will be allowed her companionship again. Until then, it looks like she and Vicchan have become fast friends.”

 

A fist clenched angrily at his side, but his face remained calm. It could be weeks before they could verify Yuuri’s pregnancy - if he had gotten pregnant at all. It was fine. He could wait. Makkachin was here and she was fine. Safe and entertained. “Thank you.” It was the only thing he could manage to say. 

 

“Sit,” Yuuri repeated, this time much more forceful. Viktor obeyed, crossing his legs up underneath himself on the cushion on the other side of Yuuri. “Do you like tea? Or would you prefer coffee?”

 

“Either is fine,” Viktor responded. It was true, he supposed, but St. Petersburg often jokingly referred to their citizens as coffee pots because of their fast growing love of the beverage.

 

Yuuri’s scowl bore into him beneath the very layers of his skin, right to the gland where he was marked. “Do  _ not _ lie to me.”

 

Viktor felt his heart jump and his gaze lower in submission. Nothing was Viktor’s own any longer. Yuuri could feel everything Viktor was feeling or know when he was telling the slightest of lies. It was the greatest imprisonment of all. “I prefer coffee. But I don’t mind tea.”

 

The omega seemed to take that as an acceptable response, taking a sip of his own tea. “Tell me what it is you like and I’ll make sure we have it stocked.”

 

“I’m simple. Instant is fine,” Viktor responded, keeping his eyes lowered as he spoke.

 

Yuuri hummed in response. “Eat. Unless you find the food not to your liking?”

 

Viktor took the bowl, chopsticks in hand with experienced use. “I like Japanese food.” It was the complete truth this time as he brought the bowl closer to his mouth and started to eat. As a skater he had traveled to Japan many times. Experiencing the different foods were always his favorite parts of traveling to other countries. A strange feeling washed over him as he neared the end of the bowl, like someone was watching him. Blue eyes gazed up and indeed there was. It was one of the omegas in the room. His hair was a wild mix of red and yellow and he was gawking at Viktor like he was some sort of celebrity. Oh. Well, he was, wasn’t he? Yuuri snapped something at him and he straightened himself and closed his mouth immediately. Viktor couldn’t help but let a small amused huff escape his lips.

 

Yuuri shifted his glasses on his face and pulled a newspaper closer to him to read. It was interesting to Viktor, how the addition of the thick blue frames made him look so innocent. His hair was still slicked back and gave him a very professional look, but the glasses made him look...real. The moment he changed the page Viktor caught a glimpse of a photo. It was of him. No doubt it was about his disappearance, though Viktor could not read the kanji characters on the page. Poor Yakov...poor Yuri...what must be going through their heads right now? Likely that he was dead. Maybe one day he could convince Yuuri to send them some sort of note letting them know he was alright. 

 

“I have business meetings I must attend today,” Yuuri said, folding the newspaper and tossing it to the center of the table. “You are free to move around the house as you wish, but you cannot leave.”

 

Yes, he had already made that abundantly clear. At least, though, he was not confined to his room. Not that it made it exceptionally better. What would he do? There was a large flat screen playing a football match on mute. He could watch that, he supposed. Sports had the benefit of being universal in language. But that would only last 90 minutes. Then what?

 

“Minami-kun speaks English,” Yuuri nodded to the omega with the crazy hair before gracefully moving to stand on his feet. “If you need anything, he will help you. Phichit.”

 

“Yup!” Phichit hopped up much less gracefully and within seconds Viktor was left alone in the room with Minami and one other omega who made no attempt to introduce himself. 

 

Minami, on the other hand, was immediately sitting down across from Viktor with that same intense stare as before. “Minami, was it?” Viktor asked, trying to be friendly. 

 

His brown eyes went wide in delight. “Minami Kenjirou! But most people just prefer to use my last name.” His accent was much thicker than Yuuri’s, but Viktor had a lot of practice with that sort of thing. “You can call me whatever you want, though!”

 

Viktor wondered how someone who acted and sounded so innocent could possibly be in the Yakuza, but he had been nothing but surprised this week by everything. Take nothing for what it was. “Commemorative photo?”

 

Minami gasped and immediately had his phones out in his hands. “Really?! You won’t tell Yuuri, will you?”

 

“Of course not,” Viktor promised. Would Yuuri truly get angry if he had found out they’d taken a photo together? The alpha wondered why. Would he be worried it would get out? Or was it more that Minami was another omega and would be viewed as a threat? Either way, Viktor smiled politely next to an excited Minami as the camera phone snapped and the photo was taken. 

 

Minami didn’t say much after that, fawning too much over the photo they had taken. The game kept Viktor entertained until the final whistle was blown. The team in blue and magenta had won - not that Viktor particularly cared. With a sigh he got to his feet, needing to use the restroom anyway, and returned to bedroom. It seemed particularly empty and quiet.

 

A sudden desire flared in Viktor to get to know his surroundings. It was probably wrong, and Yuuri might have something particularly unkind to say if he had caught Viktor doing such a thing, but the alpha started searching through drawers and closets anyway. For the most part, it was completely normal. There were books and clothes (including his own) and an occasional hidden knife or gun that didn’t come as much of a surprise. It was good to know where those were…

 

In the large walk-in closet he found his own Armani suits mixed with Yuuri’s. It was strange how domestic it all looked - something he had only ever dreamed of before. Was this what it would have been like had he found true life and love? Shared closets with their shoes laid out next to his? Lifting up a hand he parted a few of the suits, his eye catching hold of a wooden trunk. It was not in plain sight and was likely pushed back and away for a reason. But curiosity got the better of him.

 

Parting the clothes further he knelt down in front of the trunk and carefully opened it. A sharp gasp left his lips as sparkling blue and white fabric stared back at him, neatly folded. Carefully, Viktor reached in a hand and held up what was very clearly either a dancing outfit or a  _ skating _ one. The corner of a photograph peaked out and Viktor brushed back the fabric concealing it, his blue eyes growing incredibly wide. It was a photo of Yuuri, much younger, in the very outfit Viktor had been holding with a gold medal around his neck and a bouquet of flowers in his arms.

 

Yuuri had been a figure skater once. There was more than the one photo and crimped certificates from regional competitions. Even in a foreign language it was obvious that he had won these competitions.  _ Why did you stop?  _ He had been good. There was evidence of it. Especially when he came across a medal he recognized. A medal that belonged to a junior GPF leg. Skate Canada, Viktor thought. 

 

It was a moment he desperately wished he had a phone or a laptop. If he could just Google the name he swore he would find out something. How had he never heard of him before? Well, Viktor did have a terrible memory when it came to that sort of thing. If he and Chris hadn't been such good friends he'd forget the Swiss was always competing against him. 

 

As he dug further he uncovered a stack of magazines. His own face was plastered all over them. It should have scared Viktor, filled him with some sort of fear over his stalker turned captor, but all it did was feed his curiosity. 

 

_ Why did you stop skating when you were obviously so good? Why do you have magazines of me? Why is your organization filled with omegas? Why are you so desperate for a child? _

 

_ What happened to you, Yuuri?? _

 

Viktor couldn't get those questions out of his head. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was reality. Reality wasn’t the man with the soft disheveled hair and the blue glasses who loved to kiss his dog. Reality was the man with the red eyes and the devilish smirk who was Yakuza and a murderer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you everyone for your unwavering support! I wish this chapter had come out a little better. I don't hate it or anything, but I don't feel I quite portrayed Viktor's emotions like a I wanted. Hopefully I'm just being hard on myself. 
> 
> Enjoy more questions than answers <3

Viktor couldn’t sleep, mind still racing from all the information he had obtained earlier that day. He watched silently as Yuuri’s chest rose and fell steady with sleep, the omega’s back to him with plenty of space between them on the bed. Enough light came in from the window that he could trace the dark lines of the tattoos on Yuuri’s back with his eyes. Yuuri hadn’t asked any more of him since their rut and heat had ended. In fact, he hadn’t asked him to do _anything._ This was actually the first night they’d slept in the same bed outside of sex. It left Viktor with a haunting sense of dread, just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

 

Vicchan was curled by his feet, and it brought some sense of comfort, but not as much as having Makkachin there. It hurt worse knowing that the larger poodle was somewhere in the house likely alone. At least the dog hadn’t been a lie. A shuddered sigh left his lungs, heavy, and his mind went back to the banquet. Even now, skin bare for Viktor to take in all the signs of a mafia lord, Yuuri was beautiful. There was muscle, but also the soft and gentle curves that were purely omega. That spark, that attraction, was there even now. Why had Yuuri felt so insecure in himself he had resulted to this…? _Was any of it real at all?_

 

Or had Viktor just been so desperate to believe it he’d do anything to make himself think it was true?

 

With an irritated huff he rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. His vision was blurry, and at first he thought he might finally be getting tired. Then he felt the tears slowly slide down his cheeks. Viktor didn’t even know why he was crying, to be honest. Was it because he was lying here in bed with his captor and rapist? Because he’d been stolen from the world and in turn the ice? No... _Here, there, it doesn’t matter. I was unhappy either way._

 

_So then why are you crying…?_

 

Something warm and wet on his cheek jerked him from his thoughts in surprise. Vicchan was sliding his tongue up and across Viktor’s tears, his tail wagging softly as to not hit Yuuri on the other side of him. The poodle gave a small whine and then settled in next to Viktor with his head resting on the man’s chest. Viktor suddenly imagined Makkachin there with them, filling and closing the remaining gap between the two men making the bed look like a picture perfect family.

 

_That’s why you’re crying...because it could have looked just like this. You wanted it to._

 

Curling his arms around Vicchan, Viktor buried his nose in the brown fur and allowed himself to be lulled to sleep by the sound of the poodle’s soft snores.

 

/*/

 

When Viktor finally roused from his sleep it was due to his mark, a spike of irritation from his mate flowing through him. Eyes fluttering open Viktor yawned, surprised to find Vicchan still curled up in his arms and groaning in displeasure when Viktor moved and disturbed his sleep. Yuuri was standing by the window in his blue robe, back turned, talking angrily in Japanese to someone on the phone. Whatever words were being exchanged were angry enough it had engaged their bond. Yuuri must have sensed the alpha was awake, turning his head slightly to make eye contact. Viktor’s heart unexpectedly fluttered in his chest at the sight. The omega’s hair wasn't slicked back like Viktor had always seen, but ruffled and messy in his eyes behind the thick blue framed glasses he had been wearing the other day. It looked like a completely different man altogether standing before him. Even with an angry voice there was a softness to him that Viktor had not yet seen.

 

Yuuri ended the call, walking back to the bed and setting down his phone. “I’m sorry I woke you.”

 

Part of Viktor wished Yuuri wouldn’t apologize. That he wouldn’t offer kindness in a way that made the situation far more confusing that it already was. “It’s fine.”

 

“I see Vicchan has taken a liking to you.” Yuuri held out a hand and the poodle finally unlatched itself from Viktor’s side and bounced to the edge of the mattress before jumping into Yuuri’s arms. The omega genuinely smiled, letting his dog give him a kiss. “I’ve never seen him allow anyone but me to sleep with him like that before.”

 

This was wrong. It was too normal. Too domestic. “Maybe it’s because I smell like you,” Viktor offered.

 

Yuuri simply hummed in agreement, the poodle continuing to shower his master’s face with kisses. That smile could kill a man, Viktor thought. Perhaps it had. “I have a language tutor coming by this morning for you. I think it’s important that you learn Japanese. It will be our child’s first language, after all.”

 

And just like that, the softness and cuteness was gone and reality had returned. At least it would be something to do, and Viktor had been able to pick up French easily enough. There’d be plenty of opportunity to practice it around the house. “Of course.”

 

“I’m more than happy for you to teach them Russian, if you want,” Yuuri mentioned, letting the robe fall from his shoulders and falling to the floor without a care as he began rummaging through a drawer for a pair of briefs. “I think learning languages is an important skill. I wish I had taken the time to learn more.”

 

“What else do you speak?” Viktor questioned, trying to start conversation as he watched his mate dress from the bed. After all, he might as well get to know him as best he could.

 

“Mandarin, Korean, and Thai,” Yuuri answered, opening the closet door and disappearing for a moment before returning with a suit and hanging it on the outside of the door. “Thai is really useless to me other than with Phichit, but I just sort of picked it up hanging around him all the time.”

 

He learned an entire language just by hanging around someone. When it was of no use to him. Smart. Manipulative. Sweet. Terrifying. Cunning. Deceitful. Katsuki Yuuri was a dark enigma, and Viktor could not figure him out. “That’s...much more impressive than my repertoire.”

 

“Why French?” Yuuri asked, buttoning up his dress shirt in front of the mirror.

 

“Ah…,” Viktor lowered his gaze and shifted beneath the sheets. “My best friend, Christophe Giacometti from Switzerland, speaks French. I suppose it’s a little like you said with Phichit, though it’s proven useful in my skating career.”

 

“Hmm,” Yuuri flipped up his collar and wrapped his tie around his neck. “I don’t really have much desire to learn French, but I would enjoy learning Russian from you.”

 

Viktor couldn’t help but be stunned by the comment. Why? Why would Yuuri ever care to learn Russian or need to? His business seemed limited to the Asia Pacific side of things, which was even more evident by his choice in languages. “I...why would you want to learn Russian?”

 

Yuuri’s eyes met his through the reflection of the mirror. “Would it not make you feel more comfortable to speak your native tongue on occasion with someone?”

 

It was supposed to be a gesture of kindness - a sort of olive branch - but all it did was serve to make Viktor _angry._ “I’d rather speak it with my family and friends back in Russia. Back home. Where I belong.”

 

The room went silent, Yuuri not immediately responding. Those cinnamon eyes seemed more red all of a sudden, and with a deep breathe through his nose he ran his hand through his hair, slicking it back with a gelled palm. Like a split personality, he immediately changed demeanor. Viktor instinctively scooted back on the bed, even though there was nowhere to go. How was it possible for an omega to make an alpha feel this way…?

 

“There is a mark on your neck that matches mine,” Yuuri started calmly, removing his glasses and folding them neatly before slipping into an inside pocket at his chest . “That makes _us_ family, now.”

 

“I never wanted this,” Viktor’s voice trembled, the tears threatening to return at Yuuri’s remark.

 

Yuuri coolly turned around, his right hand in the pocket of his trousers. “And how many omegas in the world could say the same? That they never wanted to be claimed by an alpha, but had no choice?”

 

“But the equality laws-,”

 

Yuuri’s expression turned into a dark scowl and he marched into Viktor’s space by the bed. “Are shit. Even with equality we are not equals, and you know that just as well as I do. You are the _epitome_ of how equality is fallacy!”

 

Viktor’s eyes went wide at an accusation so harsh in nature. All his life he had considered himself an advocate in equality, especially when it came to omega participation in sports. “I-I don’t understand.”

 

“Figure skating was an _omega_ sport,” Yuuri started, bending at the waist so that his face hovered right over Viktor’s. “It was the one thing that we had that was ours until alphas decided they had to take that, too!”

 

That wasn’t true! Viktor competed with many talented omegas, Christophe included! “But omegas are still allowed to compete!”

 

Yuuri’s hand pinned Viktor’s chest back against the wooden headboard, their foreheads touching. “And look who's on top: an alpha.”

 

Swallowing, Viktor tried to calm his racing heart, his breaths coming out in short gasps just centimeters from Yuuri’s lips. “What do you want me to say? That I am undeserving? That the judges show me favoritism? Maybe if there was an omega worth skating on the same ice as me, they would.”

 

Yuuri slammed Viktor harder against the headboard unexpectedly, though it was more shocking than painful. His eyes were in a full on lock with Viktor’s, dark with rage. _“I tried!”_

 

Viktor’s breath caught in his throat. The omega must have realized what he had said, his hand recoiling like Viktor’s skin had suddenly caught fire. Yuuri tried to wipe at an eye discreetly, but he couldn’t hide the way he was feeling through Viktor - the way his entire soul seemed to be shattering from the words. The desire to comfort his distressed mate burned through him, but he remained where he was staying extremely still.

 

Yuuri retreated quickly and grabbed his phone. “Get dressed. She’ll be here soon.” There was a crack in his voice as he spoke, turning his back to his mate and slamming the door shut behind him.

 

A large gasp he’d been holding released in the empty room, fingers buried in his silver locks. “Fuck. Fuck. _Fuck!”_ He shouldn’t have said anything. He shouldn't have baited him like that! Omega or not, Viktor was at his mercy, not the other way around. Bringing his knees to his chest he clung tightly, trying to calm himself. Even though Viktor had greatly angered Yuuri, the omega hadn’t made any real move to hurt him. That was good...right?

 

_I tried!_

Viktor’s brow furrowed, Yuuri’s voice echoing over and over in his head as he slowed his breaths and brought his heartbeats back to normal. What had Yuuri tried to do? Had he tried to get good enough to take on Viktor and bring the sport back to omegas? Whatever it was that had happened, it had been tragic for the omega. An injury, perhaps? Money? No, it couldn’t have been that. It hadn’t been lack of talent.

 

_Why did you stop if it was so important to you…?_

 

Slowly, Viktor swung his feet over and grounded his feet, centering himself before he pushed off to stand. His bond still tingled from his mate’s rage. Although Yuuri had left the room, Viktor could still feel his anger and despair present within him. Kicking out of his pajama pants he started to lazily dress himself, still trying to put together the pieces of what had just happened.

 

“What did you _do?!_ ” Viktor turned his head as he pulled the sweater down to see Phichit storming into the room with pure rage. “Yuuri is fucking furious, and upset, so you had to have said something!”

 

Phichit would know. The beta was Yuuri’s best friend. If anyone would know, he would. “Why did Yuuri stop skating?”

 

Viktor had no idea how he had suddenly ended up on his back, his breath stolen from him from the harshness of the impact. Yuuri may not have made a move to hurt him, but Phichit was holding nothing back with one hand around Viktor’s throat and a knee digging into his chest.

 

“How the _fuck_ do you know about that?” Phichit’s black eyes were impossibly dark with their fury, his brows drawn in and down in a tight frown. Viktor tried to answer, but his mouth only opened and closed like a fish out of water. “Do you have a death wish? Listen closely, Nikiforov. I may feel sorry for you that Yuuri just up and snatched you like he did, and I may think what Yuuri did was done in the wrong way, but that does _not_ mean I’m going to let you go digging into Yuuri’s past. No one talks about Yuuri and his skating, you got it? _No one._ Not even me.”

 

If he had been smart, he would have nodded and left it at that, but instead he used his alpha strength to easily overpower the beta on top of him and threw him off angrily. “He abducted me and mated me. He wants to have my child, but you are telling me that I am not allowed to ask anything about him? That he is just supposed to remain a mystery to me the rest of our lives?!”

 

Phichit shook his head to recover from his landing, propping himself up on his elbows. “Ask him what his favorite color is. Ask him what his favorite food is. Ask him about his family. But you _don’t_ get to ask about his skating.”

 

With resignation he lowered his shoulders and lifted a hand to rub at his neck where Phichit’s hand had been. “Do you know…?”

 

“Of course I know,” Phichit answered, hoisting himself up to his feet and brushing himself off. “But that doesn’t mean it’s my place to tell you. Maybe one day Yuuri will tell you himself. I don’t know. But unless you are really dead set on making your life here miserable, don’t bring it up again. Now get up and come eat before Sensei comes. Yuuri stormed off without eating so there’s plenty of food.”

 

At the mere mention of food Viktor’s stomach growled, the alpha eating no where near his normal caloric intake since he had arrived. It was probably for the best, given he wasn’t working out, but it was a shock to his body nonetheless. It was likely he wouldn’t see the ice again, but he wondered if Yuuri would at least allow him some sort of physical training to stay in shape. What omega wanted a fat alpha, after all?

 

The dining room was mostly barren with only one other omega present. As Viktor sat down in front of a bowl of rice and fish and a cup of miso soup his eyes caught sight of Makkachin and Vicchan in the garden again. Minami was out there with the poodles, happily chasing them around the yard. It was a carrot being dangled in front of him. A ripple of sadness flowed through him and suddenly his appetite vanished.

 

“You know, this morning’s stunt isn’t exactly going to help you get your dog back,” Phichit spoke as he shoveled rice into his mouth, void of all sorts of usual table manners. “Give Yuuri want he wants, and he’ll give you what you want. Get him preggo, get your dog. Pretend to love him - or maybe even actually love him - and make him happy, and he’ll let you back on the ice.”

 

Viktor’s eyes flicked up. “He would let me skate again?”

 

Phichit laughed. “What? Yeah, of course. Yuuri’s been watching you skate every since he was a kid. Why would he just want to take the ice away from you like that?”

 

“Because I -,” Viktor let out a frustrated puff of air, hand running through the long bangs over his eye. “I don’t know. I don’t know _anything._ I don’t know why I’m here, why Yuuri mated me, why he wants a kid. I just don’t know. How could he want to raise a child in an environment like this?”

 

The snort was so loud and strong from the beta rice spewed from his nose. “Seriously? A child being raised by an army of omegas? Honestly, there’s probably no safer or better environment for one. They all may be Yakuza, but they are still in their hearts omega. I mean fuck, look at Minami out there. He’ll kill you with a throwing star 100 meters away and yet there he is giggling in the grass with adorable poodles. Yuuri also doesn’t bring business here unless he has to, and if he does, it’s isolated. Besides, it’s way better than alphas.”

 

Viktor grit his teeth at the snide remark. “If Yuuri hates alphas so much, why was he so hell bent on having me? A proper beta could just as easily give him a child during a heat.”

 

Phichit’s smile was unnerving. “Because you’re the only alpha Yuuri doesn’t hate.”

 

What? Why-?

 

“Ah, looks like Sensei is here! Better eat up quick!” Phichit sprung to his feet with much more energy than Viktor could ever muster and disappeared for several minutes before returning with a woman.

 

Viktor chugged the miso soup down in one go and sighed, allowing Phichit to offer introductions before ushering them off to a type of study. The woman introduced herself as Haruka, mid-forties, and spoke seven languages including Russian. It would make learning a new language easier, to be able to learn it from Russian rather than English like he thought he might have to do. Haruka’s Russian was very formal and precise. Too correct. It did more to make Viktor nervous than relax.

 

Haruka was kind and patient, at least, as they went through the utmost basics of phrases. Good morning, good afternoon, how are you? She also provided charts of katakana and hiragana for him to practice and memorize. Even after she had left hours ago, Viktor found himself absently stroking his pen through the motions of the characters over and over. Somehow it was soothing.

 

A rumble from his stomach reminded him that he had skipped lunch and it was certainly time for dinner with the sun already beginning to set on the horizon. With a heavy sigh he neatly set aside his papers and the books Haruka had left him and padded out of the room. The further he walked down the hall the louder the sound of muffled voices grew. A light shone through the crack of sliding door left ajar and Viktor stopped. The voices were coming from that room, and one of them was clearly distressed.

 

Carefully and quietly Viktor pressed his back to the wall and slowly crept an eye towards the field of vision into the room. There was a man on his knees on the center of the room, Minami behind him with a fist in his hair and a knee to his back. It was like a completely different man than the omega who had been playing with his dog earlier. There were several other of Yuuri’s omegas present, and Yuuri himself slowly circling the kneeling man with quiet precision.

 

Yuuri said something, voice calm and his hands laced behind his back. The kneeling man sputtered out something, clearly afraid. Whatever it is he had said must not have been the response they were looking for, Minami jerking his head back violently before grabbing his chin and prying it open. Yuuri reached in the man’s mouth with a gloved hand and pulled out his tongue while speaking. The other man started to let out high pitched whines of protest, vigorously shaking his head either in a response to a question or to try and free the muscle from Yuuri’s grasp. With a flick of his wrist, Yuuri’s free hand exposed a switchblade and he touched just the point of the blade to the man’s tongue. Again the man shook his head after Yuuri offered him another round of words. The blade pressed down and in one stroke the muscle was cut cleanly from his mouth.

 

Viktor’s startled gasp was easily drowned by the loud screams from the man as his mouth bled across the floor. The alpha never considered himself sensitive to gorey sights, but there was a churn in his stomach and a sinking drop of _fear._ He should go. He shouldn’t be here. Minami pulled the man’s hair, tilting his head back and opening his mouth wide. Yuuri shoved the man’s tongue back down his throat and Minami clamped his jaw shut. Blood dribbled out of his mouth as he began to choke. The struggle ceased quickly and Minami let him fall to the floor with a loud clunk.

 

The walls of the hallway were quickly closing in on Viktor. The air was suffocating him and he couldn’t breathe. Constricting. Tighter and tighter, so much he could feel his rapidly beating heart in his throat.

 

He was going to puke.

 

Both hands covering his mouth he dashed down the hall, completely knocking over someone with his shoulder as they collided at a crossing. Viktor didn’t stop to apologize or help the person up, darting through the double doors to his shared room with Yuuri and just making it to the toilet in time to spew up the soup and water he had consumed that day.

 

Everything from the past week came crashing into him, shaking his stomach up with fluids that weren’t even really there. This was reality. Reality wasn’t the man with the soft disheveled hair and the blue glasses who loved to kiss his dog. Reality was the man with the red eyes and the devilish smirk who was Yakuza and a murderer.

 

A murderer who could very well add Viktor to his list at any time.

 

Viktor slid to the floor, the wood floor cool on his cheeks as he curled in on himself. Hot tears pooled below his skin as they fell from his eyes and his body trembled. He was going to die. Yuuri was going to get what he wanted, and then he’d kill him just like he killed that man in the room. With a loud sob he squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he had never spoken to Yuuri at the banquet. Wishing that he had never gone back with him to his room. Wishing that he had just been happy with what he had because it could always be _so much worse._

 

“Do you understand now…?”

 

Vikor flinched at the voice, even though it was soft and unthreatening. Through the blur of the tears he could see Yuuri kneeling next to him.

 

“Do you understand now why I had to force you…? Once you would have learned the truth you would have left...it’s all they see: Yakuza. Murderer. No one wants to ever know the real you, do they? They just want the mask you wear on the stage.”

 

Another round of bile started to make its way up and Viktor barely scrambled to his knees and to the porcelain bowl in time. Yuuri pressed his chest against Viktor’s back, gently curling his arms around his torso and resting a cheek on his shoulder.

 

“But I never wanted your mask, Viktor...all I ever wanted was to see the real you...won’t you try and want the real me?”

 

Viktor hated that his alpha reacted to the omega’s plea, his body immediately softening under the omega’s touch and absorbing the pheromones he was releasing. Lowering his forehead to the seat his body shook with a sob.

 

Viktor Nikforov was going to die here.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri was a snake that was swallowing him whole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is hard. There are so many hidden things that I have to carefully weave in. Keeping them straight sometimes is a challenge.

Yuuri had at some point coaxed Viktor away from the toilet and to the bed, wrapping himself around Viktor like a snake. Wasn’t that just the perfect description of what the omega was? A snake that was slowly constricting himself tighter and tighter around Viktor until he suffocated and was snuffed out. A snake whose tongue flicked kind words dipped in venom at him. 

 

Maybe it would just be easier to let Yuuri swallow him whole.

 

Needless to say, Viktor didn’t sleep a wink that night, constantly in fear that Yuuri might wake up and dig those fangs into him ending his life. It wasn’t until Yuuri woke and slithered out of the room that Viktor finally allowed himself to close his eyes and breathe. Days of this had him feeling like he was already wasting away, barely ever moving from the bed unless he was called upon. He needed to stop it...If he was ever going to have hope of getting out of this mess, he needed to keep his strength up. Lying here and feeling sorry for himself  - no matter how justified it might have been - was not helping him. 

 

There was plenty of room in the bedroom for him to sprawl out for a few sets of push-ups and sit-ups, Viktor putting all his anger and frustration into his mini workout. It felt good. Freeing. The ache in his muscles from too many days off and the sweat dripping down into his eyes was a reminder that he was still alive, despite his fears. Despite Yuuri. 

 

Phichit was waiting for him when he emerged from the shower, towel wrapped around his waist. The beta was chewing on some sort of food that looked like a stick, but he removed it long enough to let out a low whistle. “Gotta say I might be a little jealous of Yuuri right now. Finally done sulking?”

 

Viktor frowned as he grabbed his shirt form the bed and started to throw it over his head. “Sulking? Is that what’s called when you are fearing for your life?”

 

“Please,” Phichit snorted, “How many times have I told you Yuuri isn’t going to hurt you? Is this still about the tongue thing from the other day? I mean, really, that wasn’t that serious.”

 

“Not serious?!” Viktor huffed, pulling his shirt down far more angrily than he should have. “He cut off someone’s tongue and had them choke to death on it. But that’s not serious and I shouldn’t be afraid for my safety.”

 

“Compared to what he usually does to people that fuck with him the way Hattori did, yeah; That wasn’t serious,” Phichit reaffirmed. “And I’m not saying you shouldn’t be afraid. You should be - but not for your safety. There are a lot worse things people can do to you than hurt you physically. Why the hell would Yuuri go through all the trouble to kidnap you - which goes against Yakuza code as it is, by the way - and try and have your baby just to kill you?”

 

Phichit might have been trying to make Viktor feel better, but all it did was confirm all of his fears. A snake. Attacking Viktor through the mind. “Once he’s pregnant he doesn’t need me.”

“God, you are so stupid,” Phichit rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed and taking a huge chunk of his stick. “I know most athletes are idiots, but I sort of thought you were the exception. Come on, Mr. Alpha Brute. Sensei is here. Also, don’t think Yuuri would invest in teaching you Japanese if he just planned to kill you. But what do I know? I’ve only been friends with him…” His voice trailed off as he started down the hall well ahead of Viktor. 

 

Sighing, Viktor finished buttoning his pants and ran the towel over his damp hair one last time before quickly following after Phichit. Maybe the beta was right. Why invest the time and resources if you planned on just killing someone…? But maybe it was simply to keep up appearances. To make him feel comfortable until he could strike.

 

Once again he had to pass by the glass doors and see Makkachin and Vicchan playing in the gardens with Minami keeping them company. 

 

The routine was more or less the same through the days. He’d spend several hours with Sensei, eat, spend some time working out, and then sit in the common area usually with Phichit and Minami watching some sort of sporting event or a drama he couldn’t understand. The better days were those when Vicchan would curl up in his lap. It wasn’t Makkachin, but it was still a familiar feeling stroking the fur between his fingers. 

 

Most days Yuuri was absent, but that didn’t make his feelings any less so through the bond. Viktor truthfully hadn’t been prepared for the sort of power it could have over him. It started to effect his own mood.

 

Today Yuuri had been in a sort of distress for the majority of the time. It wasn’t the kind of distress Viktor had caught on a few times when he was supposed to be in meetings, the kind that was more out of irritation and maybe a deal going wrong. No, it wasn’t that at all. This was real pain, and it was slowly seeping through the bond down his chest and to his very core the more the minutes of the day passed on. Gritting his teeth he moved to the bathroom, turning on the cold water to splash his face and try and regain his focus to shut Yuuri out somehow. 

 

The water felt good on his skin, bringing him back to his senses and helping him feel somewhat refreshed. When he reached up for a hand towel he noticed a blotch of red out of the corner of his eye and stopped, towel half-way to his face. He frowned, seeing a wadded up tissue of some sorts with blood stains tucked into the wastebin. It certainly wasn’t from Viktor so it must have been from Yu-

 

Oh.

 

This was why Yuuri was distressed. He was menstruating...he wasn’t pregnant. Viktor let out a loud puff of air. Frustration? Relief? It was...confusing. On one hand, he was so thankful that a child wasn’t yet going to be subject to this nightmare and that maybe - just maybe - there was still hope that he could get away from all of this. On the other, this meant separation from Makkachin for even longer. Viktor didn’t know how much longer he could handle being taunted and teased every morning behind glass doors.

 

How long would it be until Yuuri’s next heat? There were typically months between an omega’s heat. Did the fact this one was induced matter? Would it throw him off cycle or would he stay regular? Would Viktor be subject to waiting a year or more before he was able to see Makkachin again? Or worse - what if Yuuri wasn’t able to even get pregnant? Or maybe Viktor was infertile?

 

Viktor slammed his hand down onto the granite vanity top, a few tears trickling out in frustration. What would he do…? How could he maybe make this better? Wiping at his eyes with the towel he threw it down and retreated back to the bedroom, starting to pace in his thoughts. Pregnancy didn’t always occur during heats. Especially when it came to bonded pairs. Fuck. Could he do that? Could he will himself to have sex with Yuuri outside the haze of his rut?

 

Could he let his alpha take control without help? Viktor certainly refused to do it within his own right.

 

The door opened and Viktor ceased his pacing. Yuuri entered, dressed in his pressed suit but hair falling out of place from his slicked-back style and glasses perched on his nose. His cheeks were dry but there was a redness in his eyes. Or maybe Viktor was just seeing things, still feeling the tickling of his mate’s sadness. “Yuuri…”

 

Yuuri’s head snapped up, like he was surprised to find Viktor there in the room. His brow drew down in a furrow and he simply stared at the alpha as if he were contemplating what to say. “Y-yes?” The word was small, so unsure of itself. Not like Yuuri at all. Or at least he thought.

 

Clearing his throat, Viktor gathered up his courage. “I’m sorry. I...saw the blood in the wastebin.” He was sorry. Sorry for himself. Sorry for Makkachin. Not for Yuuri...but he was sorry. “Is it...was it my fault?”

 

The omega’s face scrunched up like Viktor had punched him straight in the gut. His legs were quivering as he walked to the bed and slowly took a seat on the edge, eyes locked on the floor in front of him. “It was my fault.”

 

What…?

 

“The drugs...they interacted badly with my meds and-,” Yuuri snapped his mouth shut, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes. Angrily he removed his glasses and wiped at them, pulling himself together before slipping back on. Like he was ashamed to let the alpha see him in this moment of weakness. “We’ll just have to try again.”

 

What medicine was Yuuri taking? It would have to be something long-term. Was Yuuri sick…? Was he dying? Is this why he was so desperate? Was this why he retired? “When will your next heat be?”

 

“Why?” Yuuri sniffled bitterly. “It’s not like you care.”

 

Viktor clenched his jaw, any bit of sympathy he might have felt gone in an instant. “I care about my dog.” Immediately he felt the flash of heat through the bond. 

 

“Well,” Yuuri scowled, standing and getting up in Viktor’s space, “Unfortunately for you, you’ll have to wait another six weeks before my heat. I was always slow to get back into cycle after coming off suppressants.”

 

Nostrils flaring, Viktor snapped at the bait. “Why are you so desperate to have a child? And with me? You could have had anyone.”

 

“You wouldn’t understand,” Yuuri hissed back.

  
Viktor grabbed his wrist, twisting hard. Yuuri’s hand was immediately on his throat, leg sweeping Viktor’s out from underneath him and landing right on top of him pinning him down. It would have been simple for the alpha to overpower him, but that wasn’t the play. “If you want my child so desperately, Yuuri, maybe you should give me one good reason to give it to you. Willingly.”

 

Yuuri’s grip faltered, a shift in the harshness of his gaze. It was short lived, Viktor finding the pressure quickly returning to his neck. “You are in no position to make any demands, Viktor. You will give it to me whether it’s willingly or not for no other reason than I want it.”

 

Grabbing Yuuri’s wrist, Viktor used his strength to pull it off so he could speak. “Yes. You can tie me down and rape me again and again and eventually I am sure you’ll fall pregnant. And then what? You continue to keep me locked up and just act as a caretaker to our child? Or will you even let me see them at all? You told me that you didn’t think I could ever love you, Yuuri, but you never even gave me the chance to try. Or is this the real you…? A man whose morals are bathed in lies and mistrust? Is that how you run your organization?”

 

Yuuri’s hand was on his throat again, and this time Viktor’s strength did little to pull it off. The smell and sight of blood from the man choking on his own tongue flashed in Viktor’s mind and he felt himself still in fear at the reminder of who he was dealing with.  _ You took this too far. _

 

“You don’t know anything about me,” Yuuri hissed, voice low and hand shaking in his anger. This time he removed his hand of his own accord, sitting back on Viktor’s thighs as he tried to control his furious shakes. 

 

A hand moved to his neck, the ghost of Yuuri’s fingers still lingering for a few seconds. Viktor stayed still, breath heavy with the spike in adrenaline. “You’re right,” he conceded one he finally calmed down, “I don’t know anything about you….because you won’t tell me anything. Was...was any of it real?” The smirks, the laughter, the lingering touches they shared at the banquet. “Was anything you said at the banquet real, or was it just you playing to my weaknesses….?”

 

Viktor flinched in surprise as Yuuri’s hands cradled his face and he leaned in. “I like dogs. I like skating... _ liked _ skating. I could tell through your performance that you were suffering and longing for something. Longing for love...and I love you, Viktor. I have since the moment I saw you skate on the ice with your long hair and beautiful eyes.” Yuuri closed to the gap between them, his lips gently pressing against Viktor’s.

 

It was gentle, but passionate, and Viktor easily felt himself be drawn right into the omega’s touch. His eyes fluttered close and he lifted himself up to meet Yuuri, deepening the kiss, needing to taste more of the intoxicating honey. Viktor’s mind seemed to jumble into a confused mess, only able to focus on this moment and how the omega was pulling him in with each breath. The kidnapping, the lies, the rape - none of that mattered in that moment. The alpha just wanted his omega. 

 

Yuuri slowly pulled away, lips parting with a wet pop. “I have never lied to you, Viktor.”

 

There was a fine line between Viktor and alpha in that moment, a small whimper in the back of his throat longing for Yuuri’s touch again. The need to cry was creeping up once more, Viktor so desperate for this despite the circumstances. “Maybe not...but you certainly haven’t told me the whole truth, either, Yuuri. We are mates. Just tell me one thing, Yuuri...one thing to make me believe that-,” he had to pause, swallowing back a sob.  _ Just tell me something to fool me into thinking this could be real.  _

 

Yuuri looked like he might flee and Viktor already started to mentally prepare himself for the rejection. Then Yuuri’s thumb traced the bottom of Viktor’s lip and he sucked in a breath. “Our first time meeting was not at the banquet. It was twelve years ago.”

 

Viktor was left in his shock, Yuuri unseating himself from ontop of Viktor and standing. He barely registered to opening and closing of the door, leaving him alone once more in their bedroom. Twelve years ago? That would have made Viktor fifteen...his senior debut. Desperately he searched his brain for Yuuri, cursing his brain for his poor memory. It was no use. Viktor could barely remember what he had eaten the day prior let alone twelve years ago. The only thing Viktor did remember was that that was the year he had presented - a late bloomer. All the magazines and articles had put bets on him presenting as an omega. 

 

He’d shocked the world when he became an alpha. Yakov had told him to be grateful.

 

As Viktor collected himself off the floor he wondered if maybe Yuuri had been right in his accusation. Viktor was a good skater, that he knew, but maybe he had been shown favoritism in the judging. Typically, he outscored his opponents by thirty or so points. Unprecedented margins. 

 

“You really are something else, you know that?”

 

Viktor sighed, turning his back to Phichit. He was not in the mood. “I messed up. I know.”

 

“Actually, I don’t know what you said, but this was the first time all day I’ve seen Yuuri not crying,” Phichit said. “He seemed a little...lighter?”

 

Lighter? Was that what the strange tingling in his bond was that he couldn’t explain? “I’m not sure why. I pressed his buttons again.”

 

“Hmm,” Phichit hummed in thought, leaning up against the wall and tapping his foot. “Maybe you pressed the right button, then? What were you doing? Prying for more information again? Like I told you not to?”

 

“Yes,” Viktor admitted, sitting on the bed and rubbing at the bond, trying to get it to stop tingling. 

 

“Well? Did he tell you something?”

 

With a nod Viktor responded, “That we’d met twelve years ago, though I can’t remember for the life of me. Is it true? Do you know?”

 

Phichit bit at the nail of his thumb, thinking. “Yeah. I know. Interesting. He just said you met, nothing else?”

 

“Nothing else,” he confirmed. 

 

The beta began to place up and down the room, talking to himself in Thai. Clearly Yuuri’s comment to Viktor was bothering him, though it was hard to imagine why. It hadn’t exactly given Viktor any more information to go on. Stopping at the side of the bed he plopped down next to Viktor, bouncing up slightly before settling back down. “I’m gonna make you a deal. Every time you have sex with Yuuri until there’s a little bun in the oven, I’ll tell you something about him.”

 

Viktor blinked in surprise at the offer. “But he said he won’t go until heat for another-,”

 

Phichit stopped him right there. “You are a bonded alpha and omega pair. You don’t have to wait for a heat. I mean, seriously, how much longer do you want to drag this out? Plus, I stand by the fact that he’ll start opening up a bit after. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

 

“I thought you weren’t going to tell me about his skating,” Viktor countered, still doubting where this was headed.

 

“Oh, I’m definitely not,” Phichit smiled, “But I’ll tell you other things.”

 

It angered Viktor, that the beta could just treat the situation so casually. “You act as if it’s just so easy to go in and give my body to someone. I’m not the playboy that social media plays me out to be. I’m tired of emotionless sex. I’m - I’m more than that.”

 

Phichit laughed. “Wow. That’s - that’s actually really sort of cute. Are you sure you’re an alpha? Wow...okay. Okay...I’ve totally been going about this all wrong.” He crossed his legs and looked at Viktor in all seriousness. “My offer still stands. I’ll give you a little taste that might help you out; Yuuri is a slut for praise.Tell him he looks nice or is doing good and he’ll give you the world and just might be able to trick you into thinking this relationship is exactly what you wanted in the first place.” Viktor opened his mouth to argue that that wasn’t wanted he wanted at all, but Phichit shut him up with a pat on his head. “I’m starving. It’s dinner time!”

 

Viktor followed after Phichit, his stomach in agreeance with the beta. Choosing to sit next to Yuuri he spent more time observing than really eating, noticing how much more relaxed the omega seemed with his hair free of gel and his glasses on. It was like his personality seemed to change with his look. Viktor found he was much more relaxed around this Yuuri, even though he was surely just as capable of being as ruthless as the one that screamed all business and sex appeal. 

 

When they retired to their room for the night, Viktor decided to test what Phichit had told him. Carefully, he approached Yuuri at the vanity where he was removing his watch. _ Here goes nothing. _ “I like it when you wear your hair down like that. You look far more beautiful - softer.”

 

Yuuri’s head snapped up in surprise and his cheeks immediately started to turn pink, just like Phichit said. “I-um, I can’t look soft. I can’t look like an omega.”

 

“There’s nothing weak about being an omega, Yuuri,” Viktor said, helping Yuuri out of his suit and taking the jacket. “Just like there’s nothing strong about me being an alpha. Our secondary genders aren’t who we are.”

 

The red tinge was still prominent, but Yuuri lowered his gaze from the mirror so he didn’t have to look at Viktor. “If only that were really true. Especially in my line of business.”

 

“Then…,” Viktor licked his lips, pausing and making sure he wanted to say it, “Will you do it for me? Just here, of course. I want you to feel comfortable around me.”

 

Viktor had been hoping that might pull at some sort of nice side of Yuuri, but as usual, it seemed the wrong thing to say. The blush extended down the omega’s neck, but he didn’t fluster like had previously. Instead he grabbed his jacket from Viktor’s hands and stormed off into the closet without a word. 

 

Typically, Yuuri slept close to Viktor, even if they weren’t touching. When they slipped under the covers though, Yuuri purposely turned his back to the alpha and made sure he was as far on the edge as he could go. It hurt Viktor. As much as he had wanted this, for Yuuri to leave him alone, his alpha ached for closeness.

 

After two hours of simply lying there, staring at Yuuri’s back and tracing the tattoos with his eyes he spoke, knowing his mate was awake, too. “I meant it....You’re beautiful.” Without even thinking about it he reached out a hand and touched Yuuri’s bare shoulder, the omega immediately flinching and shrugging him off. 

 

Viktor sighed and retracted his hand. It was frustrating, but...maybe he had learned something about Yuuri important today; He sorely lacked confidence in himself despite how he had acted at the banquet. Yuuri sought praise because he never gave any of it to himself - he didn’t believe he deserved it. Just like he didn’t think he could have ever deserved Viktor. It made him wonder how he could lead an army of omega Yakuza like that. 

 

Maybe it was because he was stronger than he knew.

 

Over the next few days, Viktor watched the wastebin closely until Yuuri stopped disposing of pads, signally the end of his cycle. Phichit had slipped him some pills behind Yuuri’s back at dinner when Viktor had agreed to his terms. They weren’t blackmarket like Alphazine and didn’t induce ruts, but they were primary gender suppressant that would allow Viktor’s alpha instincts to kick in more than usual. They were often used by alphas that wanted a rut-like experience during sex without the actual rut. It was the only way Viktor would make it through...if he could believe it wasn’t really him making the decision. 

 

It was a lie, of course, but one he had to tell himself.

 

Phichit had said it would kick in within an hour, but Viktor didn’t feel any different. The sight or smell of Yuuri wasn’t any more overwhelming than it usually was and his alpha still seemed rather dormant. When Yuuri decided to walk across the room naked, though, it kicked in full force. Viktor had to keep some sort of control, Phichit warning that Yuuri had to believe this was without any outside help and encouragement. 

 

“Y-uuri,” Viktor swallowed, clenching his fists tightly to keep himself from lunging forward.

 

Yuuri lifted his head and looked over his shoulder in acknowledgement. It was too much. The way the lines of his body curved in such a way, the beautiful art that permanently stained his skin. Yuuri  _ was _ beautiful, and his alpha greed whole-heartedly. 

 

“Let’s not wait until your next heat.” Viktor caught Yuuri’s surprise with his lips, hands moving from the omega’s shoulders to his back and trailing down. 

 

Despite his initial surprise, Yuuri caught on quickly, deepening the kiss and grabbing hold of the hem of Viktor’s sweater while he moved him back towards the bed. Clothes went flying and Viktor found himself quickly naked and on his back on the bed with Yuuri’s tongue in his mouth and straddling him. Victor growled, breaking the kiss and nipping at the bond on Yuuri’s neck making the omega gasp. 

 

Viktor lost himself in Yuuri, closing his eyes and smelling the blossoms and the ocean, tasting the ginger and zest that was distinctive to his mate. He hated himself for it. He hated the way Yuuri moaned beneath him and his cock twitched in delight. He hated the way Yuuri kissed him like he was the only one left in the world. He hated the way Yuuri’s hips met his with every thrust and how his delicious thighs squeezed around his torso. He hated how the omega’s gaze felt like he was looking at Viktor’s soul. He hated that his orgasm felt like an explosion of color into a grey world. 

 

Viktor hated that he liked it.

 

It felt like Yuuri had won once again. 

 

A snake that had swallowed him whole.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A happy family with two amazing poodles...he just needed to focus on that. That fairytale. It was a technique that prisoners of war would use when tortured...put their mind into a happy space to get through it. Viktor very much felt like that, which was ridiculous when he thought about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahhaha welllll I've been gone awhile haven't I?? *laughs nervously* I'm so sorry. I lost my inspiration and honestly almost left the fandom completely. But, here it is. I hope it was worth the wait!

“You owe me two questions.”

 

Phichit blinked in surprise at the statement and then smirked. “Ohhhh you took my advice, then, huh? Only two?” With a wiggle of his eyes he turned his phone upside down on the table to give Viktor his full attention. “Shoot.”

 

Viktor had crafted his first questions carefully all day waiting for Phichit to return from some sort of errand he was out running. “What sort of medication is Yuuri taking and what is it for?” Viktor had to know. Was Yuuri sick? Dying? Was that the cause of all this desperation?

 

An immediate frown was his response. “That’s two questions.”

 

“Two parts to the same question,” Viktor fired back.

 

Phichit huffed, unimpressed with that argument. “How do you know he’s taking anything?”

 

“He told me that’s why he didn’t conceive during his heat. That the drugs he took to induce it interacted badly with what he was already taking,” Viktor explained. “And, I found the bottle in the cabinet, but of course I can’t read it.”

 

“ _ Baka _ ,” Phichit hissed under his breath. “He would have never mentioned that in a million years if he hadn’t been so emotional. Omegas.” Sighing heavily he straightened. “It’s anxiety medication. You know - for  _ anxiety. _ ”

 

The surprise on Viktor’s face was surely obvious. Anxiety? That hadn’t even been on the list of things Viktor had come up with nor anywhere near it. But...now that Phichit mentioned it...it made complete sense. Yuuri did seem anxious a lot when he wasn’t in his ‘mafia’ mode and lacked any sort of self-confidence. He felt it all the time through their bond, and it subconsciously added to his desire to dance cautiously around the omega. “Is it...wise to have someone with such a condition in charge of a mafia organization?”

 

“Is that your second question?” Phichit retorted, eyes narrowed in warning to respond with a no. 

 

Sucking in a breath Viktor answered, “No.” Tapping a finger against his bicep where his arms were crossed he moved forward. “How did you and Yuuri meet?”

 

Phichit raised a curious eyebrow, not expecting the question. “We...used to skate together. Rinkmates. In Detroit.”

 

Interesting. “Why did you stop skating?”

 

“Your two questions are up,” Phichit picked his phone back up.

 

“This question isn’t about Yuuri,” Viktor pressed. Surely the answer would be somehow connected to Yuuri, given the relationship between the two men.

 

“Because after what happened to Yuuri I lost all my inspiration, alright?” Phichit spat angrily, chest puffing out as threatening as his small frame allowed.

 

Viktor watched the beta’s physical expression closely. Whatever had happened hadn’t been just some career ending injury. It had been more than that. But what? “So instead you followed your friend into the mafia.That seems extreme.”

 

“I told you I’m technically not Yakuza and I’m done answering questions. If you want more then you have to earn them,” he spoke plainly. 

 

Right...by having sex with Yuuri. Well...spending that night voluntarily with Yuuri had seemed to soften the omega a tad. He’d slept close to Viktor that night and didn’t shrink away from his gaze the next morning. He felt...wanted. “I may need more pills from you if I’m going to keep this up.”

 

“What, your big alpha dick can’t get an omega pregnant?” Phichit huffed. “I’ve seen it, so I know you’re hung. Can’t say I’m not the slightest bit jealous.”

 

Viktor scoffed in slight amusement, having heard that many times before, especially from Chris. “Jealous of me or Yuuri?”

 

“Yuuri. Duh.”

 

Viktor didn’t get a chance to respond to that, his entire body being tackled to the floor and something wet spilling all over his face.  Waving his hand around he grabbed fur. “Makkachin?!” The poodle gave a confirming yip and removed herself from Viktor’s body. “Makka!” Viktor was happily sitting back up and pulling the poodle into a hug, letting her lick his face to her heart’s content. His heart was swelling with joy at the sight of his best friend again but...why? There was no way Yuuri could know he was pregnant after just one day?

 

As if sensing his questions Yuuri approached the table, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. “A show of good faith...like you showed me last night.”

 

The alpha had to admit he was surprised. Shocked. Yuuri didn’t seem like the type at all to go back on his word, even to Viktor’s benefit.  _ You say that like you know him at all… _ ”I...thank you.” He scratched Makkachin’s ears, his heart settling. This meant he surely had no choice but to continue on with or without Phichit’s lure.

 

A much smaller bark than Makkachin’s pulled Viktor’s attention, Vicchan pouncing on Makkachin’s back upset that the larger poodle was not paying him any attention. Makkachin thumped her tail happily and leaned down to nip playfully at the other poodle’s ear. 

 

“Awww, does this mean Makka won’t sleep with me anymore?” Minami’s voice whined, actual tears forming in his eyes. It was hard to believe this was the same man that had held down a man while Yuuri cut out his tongue. “I can still play with her, right?”

 

As if Viktor could say no to anything around here. “Of course,” he forced a smile. His blue eyes caught wind of Phichit’s expression, which was nothing but a smug ‘told you so’. 

 

Yuuri took a seat next to Viktor, the alpha noticing how much closer he sat this time. It was like he wasn’t as uncomfortable as he had been before.  When the food was brought to them, Yuuri’s elbows would occasionally brush up against Viktor’s. There was a soft tinge of pink on his cheeks the alpha couldn’t help but notice. It was strange. Like Yuuri was...two people. One part was strong, fearless and incredibly sexy...like Eros. The other - this Yuuri - was innocent and insecure...like Agape. The two programs he had already been working on for the next season. He made a note to ask Phichit at some point if split personalities was on the list of things Yuuri might be taking medication for. 

 

They finished dinner and Yuuri made a move to retire early, a glance over his shoulder at Viktor on his way. Viktor had a pretty good idea what the omega was asking, but the elbow to his ribs from Phichit was certain confirmation. Sucking in a breath to prepare himself he curled his legs under him and pushed up to his feet. Makkachin and Vicchan both followed on his heels, Vicchan occasionally nipping at him playfully with a small bark.

 

_ A happy family with two amazing poodles...just focus on this. This fairytale.  _ It was a technique that prisoners of war would use when tortured...put their mind into a happy space to get through it. Viktor very much felt like that, which was ridiculous when he thought about it. He wasn’t being tortured - not really - and his accommodations were more than exorbitant. 

 

The moment they crossed the threshold of the bedroom both dogs made a bounding leap for the bed where they started to wrestle with one another. Yuuri chuckled. Actually,  _ chuckled,  _ and said something in Japanese. Viktor almost couldn’t believe his ears. Yuuri seemed to notice Viktor’s gawking and his face hardened again. That’s right...Yuuri always having to put on the mask. Never willing to be vulnerable except in those brief moments of weakness.

 

Yuuri slipped away into the bathroom and Viktor knew this was when he had to act. Quietly rummaging through one of the drawers with his clothes he found the stash of pills and dry swallowed two. They wouldn’t take effect in time for him to initiate anything, but hopefully they would in time for when things got going. Sucking in a deep breath he followed Yuuri into the bathroom making sure to close the door behind him to keep the dogs from interrupting. Makkachin had done that to him enough, thank you. 

 

Yuuri looked over his shoulder in surprise, half undressed and glasses placed folded on the vanity. At some point he had slicked back his hair again with water. Viktor had yet to get over to the surprise of seeing Yuuri like this: beautiful. Forcing a smile Viktor cleared his throat. “I...just thought maybe I could join you?”

 

The omega didn’t smile or soften like Viktor expected. Instead he frowned. “Why the sudden change? First last night and now this? I already gave you back your dog. You don’t have to keep up the facade.”

 

There were a million responses that Viktor could have responded with, but only one that wouldn’t end up with him on his back or worse. “...to continue my show of good faith. I just-,” he paused, swallowing back his pain, “can we pretend it was like that night? The way it could have been? Prove to me that you meant it Yuuri...that you still do.”

 

Viktor didn’t see Yuuri move, his eyes cast down, but he felt the moment Yuuri’s lips captured his passionately. The alpha allowed himself to lean into the kiss, mouth opening wide in invitation that the omega gladly took. That taste was toxic in the greatest of ways - in a way that could kill a man. Viktor could feel the resentment and hesitancy peeling away layer by layer with every swipe of tongue and brush of fingertips. Alpha was starting to take over, and Viktor obediently let him.    
  
Hands roaming down Yuuri’s back to his ass he squeezed and lifted the omega up to set him down on the vanity. Yuuri’s hands were immediately grabbing for Viktor’s shirt and pulling it over his head, separating just long enough to throw it to the floor. His mouth moved to Viktor’s ear, biting at the sensitive lobe as his fingers fumbled with his belt. A full body shiver ran down Viktor’s spine and he couldn’t help but let out a drawn out sigh of ecstasy. 

 

A full blown yelp left his lips when Yuuri snaked his hand around his cock and squeezed. Viktor could feel himself getting completely lost, Yuuri tugging at him through their bond. Yuuri’s mouth trailed down his neck, ghosting across the bond mark, and down towards his nipples. Viktor had to grab onto the ledge of the vanity to keep upright. 

 

When Viktor was more than fully hard Yuuri paused his stroking and stretched his back and neck up so his lips were just next to Viktor’s ear. “Alpha.”

 

Viktor had no idea what overcame him just then, but he was lunging forward with an open mouth and latching on violently to his mark on Yuuri’s neck. The omega gasped loudly, arching his back so beautifully that Viktor never wanted to let go. Small trails of blood were trickling down Yuuri’s shoulder and back, but the omega only seemed fueled by it. His fingers grabbed a wad of silver and he was yanking Viktor off only to devour his mouth once more while he fumbled with his own belt to shove his pants down to his ankles. 

 

Yuuri rocked back on the vanity and spread his legs wide sending Viktor over the precipice. Yuuri’s scent had engulfed the room by now, slick pooling beneath his hole on the granite. Viktor wanted to shove three fingers in immediately, but also wanted his tongue tasting that sweet elixir. He wanted to take his time and he wanted to ravish the omega without wasting another second. In the end, it was Yuuri that made the decision, grabbing Viktor’s hand and shoving it towards his entrance. 

 

Viktor started with two, but Yuuri quickly opened up around him and he was soon adding a third. Yuuri was licking and biting at his mark on Viktor, teasing and playing with his release of pheromones to drag the alpha along. Yuuri was soaking wet and wide open. Viktor couldn’t wait much longer. 

 

Sensing Viktor’s impatience Yuuri tilted back on his tailbone and wrapped his legs around the alpha’s waist. “What are you waiting for….Viktor?”

 

That was it. He was no longer in control of himself. Sliding in all the way in one go he gropped the omega’s ass roughly and started to pound into him mercilessly. Yuuri’s nails were scraping thin lines on Viktor’s back that turned red in their wake. Viktor barely felt the sting, only fueled by Yuuri’s enthusiasm. 

 

Yuuri slapped his hand back on the mirror after a particularly hard thrust, leaving a handprint smudge on the glass that was starting to fog. Trails of precum were glistening in the bathroom light all across Yuuri’s chest. Latching onto Yuuri’s mouth he wrapped a hand around the omega’s small cock and began to pump erratically, unable to keep up with his own thrusts. Yuuri was howling moments later, hot streams of cum shooting out and painting skin. 

 

“Come on, Viktor…,” Yuuri pleaded, body still shivering from his orgasm ontop of the alpha’s thrusts. “Come in me.” He arched his back and brushed his lips over the alpha’s gland. “Come.”

 

The omega’s teeth were sinking in and Viktor’s knot popped with a guttural growl. Legs trembled as his orgasm was released deep within the omega. His breaths came out in heavy pants, Yuuri’s mouth still latched onto his neck. It was like his orgasm wouldn’t end, the pleasure rippling through him again and again when Yuuri deepened his bite shooting another load into the omega. It was too much. He was far too sensitive.

 

“Shhh,” Yuuri hushed as he released his bite. A gentle hand stroked through silver strands as he settled in on the vanity fully attached to his alpha. “You see, Viktor? I always meant it. I always have.”

 

Viktor surprised himself, whimpering at the touch and leaning into it obediently. All he wanted right now was reassurance that he had pleased his omega - that he had done well. When the slightest of purrs started to rumble in the back of Yuuri’s neck Viktor let out a sigh of relief. He’d pleased his mate.

 

When Viktor finally felt himself come to it was with a surge of panic. What had he done? Who had he become in those moments? Gentle hands framed his face and he gasped in shock with wide eyes like a frightened animal ready to flee. Yuuri continued to brush away the matted strands of hair in the alpha’s face, hushing him like he was a child. The pills. He shouldn’t have taken two. They’d made him lose control. 

 

The second his knot started to deflate he was pulling out, needing to separate himself from the omega. With shaky breaths he stepped back, gaze focused on the tile at his feet unable to look at Yuuri. His world was spinning. Vaguely, in the background, he heard the water turn on for the shower. Slim fingers curled around his wrist and guided him into the glass structure. Viktor placed his hands on the tile and just stared, vision going foggy as he started to disassociate himself from his surroundings. Yuuri hugged him from behind, face resting on the dip between his shoulderblades. Warm tears mixed with the water that dripped off his hair and into his face. 

 

Viktor was losing himself.

 

/*/

 

“Yuuri’s in a super good mood this morning,” Phichit grinned. “How many questions do I owe you?”

 

Viktor still hadn’t left bed, Makkachin and Vicchan just fine with that and fighting for space beneath the alpha’s arms. He’d faked sleep when Yuuri woke up and started to get ready for the day. The omega had been fine with it, even leaving with a kiss to his cheek. It had taken everything for Viktor not to flinch. “Just one…” His voice seemed so far away.

 

“What’s wrong with you?” Phichit asked with a frown, bending down so that Viktor had to look him in the face. 

 

“I took too many pills.”

 

Phichit lifted a perfectly crafted eyebrow. “Huh?”

 

Viktor shifted so he could actually look at Phichit better. “The pills you gave me. I took too many...I completely lost it.”

 

“Ohhhhhh,” the beta drew out, realizing what Viktor was talking about. “Went full alpha, huh? I always thought that kinky bastard liked it rough. Why are you sulking about it? The pills did their job, then. Isn’t that what you wanted? For you not to be in control? Otherwise you wouldn’t do it...right?”

 

“Not like that,” Viktor spat, both poodles snapping their heads up to attention at the change of tone.

 

Rolling his eyes Phichit scoffed. “You are impossible to please, you know that? Come on, stop moping and ask me your question. You gotta be dying to know something this morning.”

 

Viktor sighed, pushing himself up into an upright position supported by the pillows. Both poodles rearranged themselves, Makkachin at his side and Vicchan curling up in the space between the alpha’s legs. “I...does Yuuri have a split personality?”

 

Phichit’s mouth drew into a thin line and his jaw tightened. “You sure do know how to ask the worst questions, don’t you?”

 

“Are you telling me you won’t answer?” Viktor asked with a frown. If the beta refused, that was telling enough. 

 

“I’m not going to answer.”

 

“So then he does,” Viktor concluded. 

 

“No!” Phichit snapped. “He just...ugh!! You’re so infuriating, you know that?!”

 

Viktor’s mouth twitched. Phichit’s outburst reminded him so much of Yakov it hurt. “So I’ve been told on many occasions.”

 

Crossing his arms angrily, Phichit fought with himself. Viktor had a feeling the beta wanted to tell him, but was conflicted on his loyalty to Yuuri. “Look. For the most part, we consider ourselves and our secondary gender to be one person, right? We only feel that separation in the most animalistic of moments like you did last night.”

 

Viktor nodded. Especially for himself it was so easy to forget he was an alpha because he never really responded to any of an alpha’s typical urges. He was just Viktor who just so happened to also be an alpha. 

 

“Well...it’s not really the same for Yuuri. Not since...the incident,” Phichit explained. “Yuuri and Omega are pretty distinctly two separate people. You know really terrifying but sort of kind of hot Yuuri? That’s Omega. Super shy and a ball of anxiety Yuuri? That’s  _ really _ Yuuri.”

 

Viktor couldn’t do anything but blink with mouth open in silent shock. This...explained so much. Eros and Agape. Omega and Yuuri. But, “I don’t understand. Omegas by nature are -,”

 

“Don’t even finish that sentence,” Phichit cut him off, “Especially not around Yuuri. Even the sweetest and cuddliest of animals turn deadly when threatened. I would have thought you’d be beyond stereotypes by now, especially with how you turned out yourself.”

 

Right...Viktor let out a sigh, trying to take in this new information. “Are you saying this ‘split’, so to speak, only happened after this alleged incident?”

 

“You say that like I’m lying about it, but yeah, it only happened after. Doctors say it’s a defense mechanism.”

 

Defense mechanism. What the hell had happened? “And there’s no cure?”

 

Phichit scowled at that. “You say that like it’s some sort of disease he can just take medicine for. It’s a state of mind. Regular Yuuri doesn’t feel safe and comfortable as himself, so Omega takes over. It’s about getting Yuuri back to that point he was before. He’s a lot better than he used to be, trust me. It’s more...controlled.”

 

This was too much. Viktor threw back the covers and stood, running a hand across his face as he headed towards the bathroom. “I need a minute to think.”

 

“Tch, you’re the one that wanted to know the answer so bad. Well, you got it. And don’t you dare tell Yuuri I told you any of this or I’ll kill you.” With one final huff Phichit stormed out of the room.

 

It was a threat Viktor believed. Viktor was no longer dealing with just one person, but two. Already he felt constantly on the edge, but now he’d have to be even more diligent with this knowledge. Did Yuuri somehow think that he was the key to getting back into that proper state of mind Phichit referenced? Or…

 

Was it the baby?

 

_ The baby. _

 

That had to be it! A baby would likely kick in the omega’s maternal instincts and calm it down, maybe even enough for Yuuri to take back some control. Makkachin let out a sudden whine, looking up at her master in concern. “That answers one question, I think, but why me, Makka?” The poodle predictably did not answer, only stared and thumped her tail. More answers just brought more questions with them. 

 

A rumble in his stomach reminded him he had yet to eat this morning. “Ok, ok…I get it.” He threw on the first things he found in the drawers and closet and made his way to the dining room. There was no one there. Following the smell of his nose he found the kitchen where leftovers were laid out for him already in a bowl that was still steaming. 

 

Just as he started to head back to the table to eat his eyes caught a picture of himself printed in full color on the front of a newspaper. Curiously he picked it up, unfolding the paper to see the article in full. Viktor couldn’t read a single character. He needed to find someone to translate it for him. Folding the paper back up he left his meal behind and started to walk the halls. Where had Phichit gone? Viktor didn’t want to just open doors...there was no telling what he’d find. 

 

After wandering the halls aimlessly unsuccessfully he eventually gave up and turned back towards the kitchen when a door opened. It was Minami who stepped out. “Minami!”

 

The younger omega looked in his direction in surprise. “Oh, Viktor. And Makka! Hi Makka!” The poodle approach the man and he kneeled down to rub all over her ears.

 

“I was wondering if you’d translate this for me,” Viktor held out the paper.

 

Minami reached out and took it with a hand, instantly frowning. “Are you sure you want me to read this to you?”

 

“Please. I have to know what it says,” Viktor insisted.

 

“Well, ok,” Minami spoke with hesitancy, silent as he began to read through the article in order to summarize a translation. “So, um, it basically says that after investigations, the authorities are now calling you a runaway.”

 

Viktor’s heart completely dropped through his stomach to the floor. “....what?”

 

“When your apartment was searched in Russia, it was empty and your dog was gone. That lead everyone to assume that you broke from the stress and ran away without telling anyone.” Minami handed back the paper.

 

Viktor let it completely fall to the floor. “No one’s looking for me.”

 

“Well, not no one,” Minami corrected. “It said your former coach and rink mates refuse to believe it. The authorities aren’t looking for you, though, I can promise you that. Yuuri-kun would have made sure of it.”

 

No one was looking for him. The strength in his legs gave out and he fell to the ground, back thumping up against the wall. 

 

“Ah! Viktor! Are you alright?” Minami asked, immediately at the alpha’s side. “Should I get Yuuri-kun or a doctor?!”

 

Not even the comfort of Makkachin or Vicchan could pull Viktor from the cold hard realization. Yuuri had crafted this perfectly. 

 

No one was looking for him. 

  
  



	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slowly, Yuuri turned back around but he didn’t move right away. Instead he stood there, eyes wide behind his glasses as a gentle breeze blew through. Cherry blossoms fell around him, and Viktor couldn’t help but think how it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Vicchan jumped up on Yuuri’s leg, breaking the omega’s train of thoughts and tentatively he returned to Viktor’s side on the rocks to sit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un beta'ed. Too tired of looking at it xD I'll come back to it later. This is so long compared to my usual chapters! Some answers. More questions. But perhaps things are starting to come together?

The weather was perfect. It was warm enough to wear short sleeves and jeans rolled into a cuff but with a breeze that kept any sweat from forming. The sky was blue with just enough cloud cover to keep the sun from pounding down on you. Birds chirped and the smell of cherry blossoms filled Viktor’s nose. The smell of Yuuri.    
  
Yuuri’s house was situated right next to a massive Japanese garden, the kind that people usually paid admission to go see. It was exquisite, unlike anything Viktor had ever seen before. Well maintained and as colorful as Japanese gardens got given how earth toned they tended to be. There were ponds of koi and occasionally Viktor would see cranes fly by. Above all, though, Viktor noticed the tall three meter fence that bordered the property. It made sense, now, why Yuuri allowed him out with little to no supervision other than Makkachin and Vicchan. Yuuri needn't be afraid of an escape. 

 

The garden was good for Viktor’s soul, he decided. Good for his sanity. Closing his eyes he let his chin fall on Makkachin’s head and listened to the sound of water trickling in the pond. After finding the newspaper he had almost gone mental. Mental in the sense he couldn’t do or say anything. Lifeless, even. It had left nothing in him to engage Yuuri that night, but the omega didn’t get angry or upset. Instead, he had spooned behind Viktor and released the sweetest of scents that had made Viktor forget everything and become a compliant ball of goo. It was frightening, looking back at it now, knowing that Yuuri could do that to him. It was the true power of an omega. 

 

“Are you feeling better?”

 

Vicchan gave a happy yip and Viktor opened his eyes. Yuuri took a seat next to him on the rocks, dressed in very casual clothing. If it weren’t for the tattoos peeking out beneath the fabric, it would have been all too easy to forget who he really was. His hair was soft, free from any sort of gel and he wore his glasses on his nose. 

 

Viktor contemplated the question for a moment before responding, “Yes, thank you.”

 

“Viktor,” Yuuri started, eyes staring down at the koi that swam in the waters by his feet. “Is there something I can do to make you happy? I mean...given the circumstances. I know that -,” he paused, letting out a small huff of frustration as he tried to find the words.

 

It was like he was trying to apologize. Little good that did without the actions to back it up, but...Somehow, Viktor was grateful for it, anyway. He shouldn’t. He was a prisoner that was being used as a stud, and yet here he was, wanting to accept this olive branch being extended. “The ice makes me happy, Yuuri. Will I ever be allowed to see it again?”

 

“W-what?! Of course!” Yuuri stuttered out, glasses slipping down his nose from his sudden movements. “I would never keep you from the ice! I fell in love with you on the ice.”

 

Viktor could feel Yuuri’s hot blush through the bond as the omega quickly looked away in embarrassment. Sucking in breath through his nose his lips parted softly with words he dared not speak.  _ You don’t hurt those you love.  _ “Tell me, then, about how you fell in love with me. I deserve to know, don’t you think?”

 

There was a flash of panic through the bond, his fast beating heart thumping against Viktor’s own mark, but Yuuri stayed where he was curling his knees closer to his chest with Vicchan in his lap. “I started skating when I was five. It was just for fun, nothing serious, but I became really good friends with one of the girl skaters at the rink. I remember...it was your last season in Junior’s, before you presented….We watched your performance together and I just...I knew I loved you, then. I knew I had to be good enough to one day meet you on the ice.” His soft and vulnerable form turned rigid in place. “But I never did.”

 

Viktor swallowed, wondering if he was pushing too much. “Yuuri...you said we met before, yes? It was not on the ice? Where, then?”

 

Yuuri flinched, and Viktor could no longer tell who it was that was winning out control. “I went to see you at World’s, but...I never ended up getting to see you skate your free program.”

 

“Why?” Viktor kept his voice soft, trying to be reassuring. Trying to make sure Yuuri didn’t flee and lose this moment.

 

The omega held Vicchan closer to his chest. “Because an hour after I saw you, when you were signing autographs and greeting fans before your skate, I presented.”

 

“Oh,” Viktor breathed, sorry that Yuuri had to experience such a thing in such a public area and likely away from home. “I-,” Wait. Viktor had presented hours after the free skate. In a public area. Away from home. Yakov had had to change their plane tickets to extend his stay in Japan while he went through rut. He and Yuuri had presented within hours of each other.

 

When Viktor looked over at Yuuri, he was smiling softly. “So...you see? I fell even more in love with you then. You made me who I am.” Finally, he turned his head to look straight at Viktor. “And I think I did the same to you.”

 

Viktor knew he must have looked like one of the koi, his mouth open and closing with uncertain words. He didn’t even remember seeing Yuuri at the competition. How could it have been possible he’d presented because of him? “It’s...don’t you think it could have been coincidence?”

 

“Do you?” Yuuri bounced the question back, kicking at a loose rock with his shoe. 

 

Yes. No. Viktor had no clue. There certainly didn’t seem to be any concrete reason why they would have responded to each other in such a way, but...what were the odds of such close presentations? A million to one, surely. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

 

Yuuri simply hummed. “I’ll see what I can coordinate on ice time for you. If there’s anything else you can think of, let me know.” He tucked his feet beneath himself and pushed up to stand, Vicchan hopping from his arms and attaching himself to the omega’s heel.    
  
_ Don’t let this chance escape. _ Despite his complete and utter jumble of a brain after Yuuri’s news, Viktor knew he had to take advantage where it was offered. “I want to know more about you.”

 

Yuuri paused in his movements, head turned slightly over his shoulder. His body was tense like a deer ready to bolt. 

 

Viktor turned his body so that he was returning his mate’s gaze. “Whatever you’re willing to tell me. It can be anything. Your favorite color, your favorite food. Anything. I deserve that at least, as your mate.”

 

Slowly, Yuuri turned back around but he didn’t move right away. Instead he stood there, eyes wide behind his glasses as a gentle breeze blew through. Cherry blossoms fell around him, and Viktor couldn’t help but think how it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Vicchan jumped up on Yuuri’s leg, breaking the omega’s train of thoughts and tentatively he returned to Viktor’s side on the rocks to sit.

 

“Katsudon,” Yuuri said, voice small.

 

“Hmm?” Viktor questioned.

 

“My favorite food. It’s katsudon,” Yuuri explained. “Fried pork cutlet bowls. I don’t eat it much, since I gain weight so easily. My mother makes it the best.”

 

“Sounds delicious,” Viktor offered a smile. “I’d liked to have it one day. It’s hard for me to say what my favorite food is. I’ve had so much travelling. But, I think, I’ll always enjoy Alenka chocolates the most. A taste of home. Yakov used to get so mad at me when I’d engorge myself after a competition.”

 

Yuuri let out an amused huff. “I remember seeing you eat them during a press conference once. Your coach definitely didn’t seem happy.”

 

Viktor waved a dismissive hand, “Yakov is permanently grumpy. If he wasn’t mad I wasn’t doing something right, I used to tell myself. It was ok, though. He was like a father to me, and I can never be grateful enough for what he did. What about you, Yuuri? Are your parents still around? Any siblings?”

 

“Mm, my parents run an Inn in Hasetsu. It’s a small ocean town about an hour from here,” Yuuri said. “My sister helps them when she isn’t busy with her own organization.”

 

“Are they Yakuza, too?” Viktor questioned, a slight tension in his jaw. 

 

“Sort of,” was Yuuri’s unexpected response. “My parents used to be heavily involved, but now they just host other organizations, offering a safe place for meetings and sensitive information for any of Taishu-kai’s clans. Mari is boss of her own clan in Hasetsu, though, that work under me.”

 

Viktor swallowed, trying to digest this information. Just how big was Yuuri’s organization, anyway? “So, this clan, Taishu-kai, you’re the boss?”

 

“Ah, no, I’m not the oyabun of the group, but,” his gaze shifted and he looked far more uncomfortable than he had any other time during their conversation. “I have already been named the successor. Oyabun is getting old and for whatever reason he likes me. My clan has grown and expanded larger than any other in the group.”

 

It didn’t take their mating bond for Viktor to sense the immense pressure that was putting on Yuuri. “I see. Well, I’m sure you’ll be great!” Viktor forced his media smile. Though, what was being great for the Yakuza? A great murder? Torturer? Kidnapper? Viktor was still rather unclear on what exactly it was Yuuri did.

 

Yuuri didn’t seem convinced and he was kicking off his tennis shoes and lowering his bare feet into the koi pond. “I’d rather just stay here like this. With you.”

 

This was the most vulnerable Yuuri had allowed himself to be in Viktor’s presence. Ever. It surprised Viktor, and he almost didn’t know what to do. Half of himself was trying to scream and yell not to get comfortable, to remind him that this man next to him kidnapped and assaulted him. The other was telling him to back off, to let this happen, keep this Yuuri in his sights. It was painfully confusing, Viktor feeling his heart ripping in different directions. 

 

Katsuki Yuuri had killed a man in Viktor’s presence. He had kidnapped Viktor, taken everything from him and bonded him permanently to his omega. And yet all Viktor wanted to do in that moment was reach for Yuuri’s hand and inch closer.

 

Viktor kept his hands buried in Makkachin’s fur, but let his own bare feet join Yuuri’s in the water. “I suppose you don’t just quit the Yakuza, do you?”

 

Yuuri huffed and graced Viktor with a rare smile. “Not really. Besides, I’d be letting too many people down. So many omegas depend on me now for protection. I couldn’t do that to them. Don’t you feel like you would have let your fans down if you quit skating?”

 

Involuntarily, Viktor’s leg jolted in the water at that comment causing a small splash. Yes, Viktor thought about that. He thought about that almost every damn day he got out onto the ice. “Well, I didn’t end up having much of a choice in that matter, did I?”

 

“But you didn’t make the choice, so, you didn’t disappoint anyone. See?” Yuuri offered up. “Your fans would just hate me, not you.”

 

That particular silver lining seemed a bit like reaching, even though it was true. “Well, then how does it feel? Knowing you were the person to steal Viktor Nikiforov from the world?”

 

Yuuri stayed still for several long seconds, taking in the sounds around them. Then, he pulled his feet from the water and grabbed his shoes before standing. “Nothing at all like I’d thought.” 

 

Blinking in surprise Viktor watched as Yuuri walked away with Vicchan at his heels.  _ Brilliant, Viktor. You ruined that.  _ Sighing, Viktor wondered what Yuuri meant by his words. Was Viktor different than he’d hoped? Disappointing? Too real? Not real enough? “Makkachin, why do I feel so guilty for disappointing him?” The poodle tilted her head in confusion at her master’s question. “Why do I care so much? I shouldn’t, should I? I should be angry, right? Or happy, maybe, that I wasn’t what he was hoping.” Groaning, Viktor pulled out his own feet. “Tell me what to do, Makka.”

 

Predictably, Makkachin left him with only silence.

 

/*/

 

Yuuri was distant that night. Viktor shouldn’t have been surprised given how their conversation had ended. The one redeeming thing seemed to be that it was indeed Yuuri that was pacing around the room on the phone in a long sleeve shirt that was too large and really probably too warm given the weather. It had made it difficult for Viktor to concentrate on his Japanese studies, the omega clearly anxious as he continued to draw circles into the floor. That and the fact Viktor still couldn’t quite get over today’s revelations. 

 

He’d long given up getting anything done, but it had given him thought to an idea. Books. If Viktor could somehow have access to a library of sort, just maybe he could look into the theory Yuuri had of their presentations. Surely there had to be some sort of documented cases of similar occurrences before. At the very least, maybe he could find out more information about Yuuri’s split personalities.

 

When Yuuri had finally ended his phone call Viktor broached the subject. “Yuuri? Do you think it would be possible to get access to books? Like a kindle or something?”

 

Yuuri seemed caught off guard by the question at first, but his shoulders eventually relaxed. “Oh, of course. I’ll have Phichit set something up for you.”

 

“Are you ok?” Viktor ventured the question. Yuuri wasn’t ok, he could feel it, but whether or not the omega would admit it was the true question.

 

He didn’t answer right away, fumbling with his phone in his hands instead. “It’s nothing.”

 

Viktor sighed, frustrated at Yuuri’s predictable answer. Yuuri closed himself off the moment he began to show signs of opening up.

 

“It’s just,” Yuuri started, nibbling at his plump lower lip as he struggled to find the words. “Work problems, I guess. I don’t really know how to handle a situation.”

 

In surprise at Yuuri’s change of heart, Viktor closed his study material and set it aside to offer his full attention. “Is there anything I can help with? I mean, probably not, but you know, I’m a good listener. Well, actually, Yakov tells me I don’t ever listen at all - but! I can try.”

 

A twitch of a smile graced Yuuri’s lips and he climbed on the bed next to Viktor, tucking his feet beneath the covers and leaving a bit of space between them that seemed just natural more than anything. “I just...sometimes I lack the confidence to do what needs to be done even though I’m usually just the one giving orders.”

 

“Ultimately you’re responsible for what your people do, though,” Viktor added, understanding where Yuuri’s doubt was coming from. “But your boss trusts and believes in you enough to have already named you his successor. Have confidence in that.”

 

Yuuri only hummed, reaching out a hand to pet Makkachin who was nudging his thigh with her nose. Sighing, Yuuri reached up and plucked his glasses from his place, folding the arms and setting them gettle on the nightstand and turning the light out on his side of the bed. Rolling over with his back to Viktor Yuuri pulled up the sheets and settled in for the night. Makkachin pressed herself right up against the omega’s back resting her nose across his side. Traitor.

 

Despite knowing he likely would not find sleep quickly, Viktor turned off the light and slid down beneath the covers facing Yuuri. With the sweater on, Viktor didn’t have the vast lines of ink to trace his eyes over. It was his go to thing to fall asleep. With the sweater being too big, there were still slivers of skin along his upper back and shoulders that were exposed, but it wasn’t enough to keep Viktor’s attention. With both dogs having chosen Yuuri to cuddle with, Viktor was left alone in the dark with his thoughts. 

 

Eventually, he must have fallen asleep, as he was jolted from his dreams with a startling jerk. Alpha was going crazy inside him and the first thing he heard as he came to were the dogs’ whines. Yuuri was still asleep, but the covers were thrown off and he was sweating profusely beneath his clothes. His body was convulsing as strings of Japanese spewed from his mouth. Words that even Viktor knew in his limited studies: Please, No.

 

“Yuuri?” Viktor asked carefully, afraid of what might happen if he startled the omega out of whatever nightmare he was having. Just because Viktor hadn’t found a gun or a knife beneath the pillows didn’t mean they weren’t there. Yuuri didn’t wake, eyes fluttering behind closed lids. “Yuuri, wake up, you’re having a nightmare.” Gently, he shook Yuuri’s shoulder. Nothing. “Yuuri,” he shook harder this time.

 

With a sharp gasp Yuuri’s eyes snapped open wide in fear. The brown orbs darted to Viktor and immediately he was slapping at his hands and scrambling to get far away from the alpha as possible causing him to fall from the bed. 

 

“Yuuri!” Viktor threw back the covers and ran over to the other side of the bed where Yuuri was curled up on the floor, both poodles going crazy with worry. 

 

Yuuri cringed when Viktor reached out a hand. “S-stay away!”

 

Viktor swallowed, stopping in his movements. The room reeked of fear and it was driving his alpha completely mad. What on earth could Yuuri have dreamt about that would make him so scared? “Yuuri, please...what can I do to help?” Viktor had never been good around people who cried, and Yuuri was practically sobbing, face in his hands as he shook. 

 

With a whimper Yuuri only shrunk further away, fingers pulling at his hair rather violently. Viktor stayed silent and still, waiting for Yuuri to make the first move. Even as the sobs started to subside, Yuuri’s breaths were still erratic and his emotions through the bond remained out of control. Viktor’s palms were surely bleeding where he was digging his nails into the skin to keep from reaching out. Yuuri made to stand, but his legs gave out with a cry and he fell. 

 

Viktor couldn’t hold back any longer at that. “Yuuri, are you ok? Please, tell me what to do!”

 

Yuuri’s hands went to his ankles, the apparent source of his pain. “P-Phichit. Get Phichit.”

 

“Okay,” Viktor answered. “Let me help you onto the bed, at least?”

 

Yuuri hesitated, but eventually nodded. Viktor scooped the omega into his arms effortlessly and gently laid him onto the bed. Both poodles joined him immediately, Vicchan bounding into his master’s lap and reaching up to lick away the tears. Truthfully, Viktor was only half-way certain of which room was Phichit’s based on a time he saw the beta go in. For all he knew, it wasn’t a bedroom at all or belonged to someone else.    
  
With a second of hesitation Viktor lifted his fist and knocked on the door. “Phichit? It’s Yuuri. He had a nightmare and is asking for you.” There was a long pause of silence, and Viktor went to knock again when the door slid open violently and Phichit appeared half-way in a robe he was slipping on.

 

Phichit didn’t say a word, brushing past Viktor with little regard for the alpha towards the master bedroom as he finished tying off his robe. “Yuuri?!” The beta made a beeline for the bed, climbing onto the mattress and immediately pulling Yuuri in against his chest. Yuuri started to sob again and Phichit was whispering to him in Japanese, slowly starting to rock back and forth.    
  
Viktor felt very much like an intruder on the moment.

 

Out of respect, Viktor stepped out, back to the door as he simply stood there and listened. He could hear Phichit and Yuuri exchange conversation, Yuuri’s words indecipherable to Viktor completely through his sobs. Makkachin padded out to Viktor, tail wagging low between her legs. With an upset whine she let her body fall against Viktor’s leg and the alpha reassured her with strokes on her head. 

 

It was hard to say how long he stood out there, just absently stroking Makkachin’s fur, before Phichit surfaced and shut the door completely behind him. ‘It’s probably best if you sleep in one of the guest rooms tonight.”

 

Viktor just nodded at that. “I...I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do or how to help. Some mate, huh?”

 

“You did the right thing by not doing anything,” Phichit countered. “Trust me. Come on, I’ll show you to the room.”

 

Viktor and Makkachin followed along the hall to a small room Phichit led them to. It was void of any sort of decorations or personable items, and the bed was a traditional Japanese futon low to the ground unlike the one in his room with Yuuri. It didn’t really matter to Viktor, though, for the alpha knew he would get no sleep the rest of the night.

 

/*/

 

The next morning Viktor didn’t need to see Yuuri to sense the change. He knew well before breakfast that it wouldn’t be Yuuri he was dealing with that day. The feeling through the bond was dull and a bare tickle whereas with Yuuri there was always something happening through it. Sure enough, Yuuri had his hair slicked back void of glasses dressed in an all black suit with eyes as dead as Viktor felt. 

 

Viktor threw himself into his studies when his teacher came doing everything he could to avoid the chills that would constantly run down his spine that always originated from his mark. Any comfort Viktor had gained with Yuuri over the last few days was gone the moment the omega returned to the house with blood spattered on his collar and neck. Viktor could smell death on him. The feeling of fear and dread returned and he found himself once more over the toilet. It was easier to pull himself back together this time, at least. Eventually, he’d get used to it, right?

 

After such a long 24 hours Viktor decided to take a bath in an effort to relax as much as was possible. The elegant bathtub looked more like a mini hot spring that Viktor had visited before in his times to Japan. It was recessed into the floor surrounded by stone fixtures and the spout looked more like a small waterfall. It was large, easily fitting two people if the desire arised. Starting the water on scalding hot Viktor began to strip letting his clothes fall into a pile on the floor. Finding a bottle of bath oil he put in a few drops and then let his feet breach the surface. He sucked in a sharp breath at the stinging feeling of the hot water, but his skin adjusted and he sunk all the way down. 

 

It was all too easy to allow his eyes to drift closed, steam rising from the water and clearing out his sinuses. Sore muscles started to relax and exhaustion started to set in. Viktor’s world started to go dark surrounded by warmth and he felt his body fall into a light sleep. He dreamt of cinnamon red eyes staring. Staring through his very self and pulling him in. 

  
Viktor opened his eyes and there was Yuuri, sleeves of his blouse rolled to his elbows as his upper half draped across the edge of the bed, fingers dancing across the surface of the water just near Viktor’s skin. His cheek was pressed against his hand on the ledge as he were contemplating something. 

 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” Yuuri apologized. 

 

“Ah, no, it’s alright,” Viktor shifted uncomfortably in the tub, moving away from Yuuri’s fingers. “I could have drowned if you hadn’t checked on me or something, so.” How long had he been out? And how long had Yuuri been there? It couldn’t have been that long. The water was still steaming.

 

As if reading his mind Yuuri commented, “The bath is designed to retain the heat. It reminds me of my parent’s onsen that way.” Without warning, Yuuri dipped his hand down into the water and wrapped his fingers around Viktor’s cock.

 

The alpha jerked in surprise, hands coming out of the water to grip the sides. “A-ha, Yuuri, what are you doing?”

 

Yuuri continued stroking, climbing over the side of the tub and leaning in to lick a stripe up Viktor’s neck to his ear. Red tie was dangling in the water. “Come on Viktor...it’s been days.”

 

Viktor swallowed hard, trying his best to recoil but with nowhere to go. Yuuri’s skin was practically radiating heat. Was he going into pre-heat?! Pills. Viktor needed to get to the pills. There was no way he could do this now without them. “Yu-uri, maybe we should move this out of the bathroom?” His hand started to reach around for the towel around Yuuri, eventually able to snag it and pull it off the bar. 

 

With an irritated groan Yuuri pulled off and gave Viktor room to to get out and towel himself off. Much to his dismay, Viktor was fully erect beneath the white cloth he quickly wrapped around himself. There was no turning back from this, now. Yuuri didn’t let Viktor take two steps before he was ripping the towel off, grabbing for his erection once more, and locking their lips together in a heated kiss. The more Viktor tried to push him off, the more insistent he became.

 

“Viktor,” Yuuri breathed between kisses, working on removing his tie and unbuttoning his shirt. “I need you. Please.”

 

Viktor could hardly keep up, his head and heart spinning in all the chaos. “Y-uuri. Please, can’t we take this to the bed-ooph!” The alpha landed hard on his ass on the pile of clothes, Yuuri immediately crawling into his lap. This was definitely pre-heat. There was no other explanation for it. Squeezing his eyes shut he did everything to prepare himself without Phichit’s aids. At the very least, Yuuri wanted to be in control here. There was no need for Viktor to do much but lay back and let it happen.

 

Yuuri continued to kiss Viktor’s lips, his jaw, across his clavicle, all while he shrugged himself out of his trousers and boxers. Powerful thighs on either side of Viktor’s torso he ground their cock’s together, moaning as he rocked. The omega rocked a few more times before he sat up straight and reached back for Viktor’s cock. Viktor’s eyes went wide in realization, but he was too late as Yuuri sunk down with a painful cry. 

 

“Yuuri, stop,” Viktor reached a hand to Yuuri’s hip, only to have it swatted away. It hurt. It hurt Viktor because it hurt Yuuri, but all he could do was watch helplessly as Yuuri sunk down further with tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Why? Why was he doing this? Swallowing back his own tears he closed his eyes and let himself focus on what little pleasure he was feeling.

 

Not bothering with giving himself time to adjust, Yuuri started moving instantly. It was not a smooth ride, not enough slick having yet formed to ease the passing. The omega’s pants were harsh and labored, but his hands held Viktor’s chest down firmly with decision. When the way finally did begin to ease, Yuuri buried his nose against Viktor’s gland, scenting him for all he was worth. There was desperation in the way he moved, in the way he licked and nipped. 

 

By the time Viktor finally started to feel his knot beginning to swell Yuuri had stopped pinning him down and he wrapped an arm around the slender waist. His hips started meeting Yuuri half way and the omega threw back his head with a cry as he came. A minute later, Viktor felt himself lock within the omega and he was coming hot and heavy, exhausted body quickly collapsing back onto the bathroom floor. 

 

Yuuri curled over on top of him and let out a heartbreaking cry, body shaking with each sob he let out into Viktor’s shoulder. Viktor’s eyes went wide, stunned by the sudden 180 in Yuuri’s mood. Did he do something wrong? Was he still emotional about the dream? What was Viktor supposed to  _ do? _

 

“Yuuri...why? Why did you do that? Why did you hurt yourself?” Viktor questioned, a knot in the back of his throat. It was impossible to tell anymore what were his own emotions and what were side-effects from Yuuri. 

 

“Because,” Yuuri sobbed, lifting his head to look at Viktor. Those eyes. This was Yuuri, now. “Because I deserved it.” His shaking hands cradled Viktor’s face and he kissed him, salt on his lips. “I deserved it.”

 

Yuuri was a snake, and Viktor could feel the tail crawling down his throat and wrapping around his very heart. With every beat Yuuri was squeezing and making Viktor fall for him. Viktor knew. Viktor knew he was falling, and he let arms wrap around the omega as he stared at the ceiling and accepted his fate. It was just a matter of time, now. 

 

No longer was Yuuri swallowing him whole. Now, Yuuri was simply wrapping himself around the very skeleton of Viktor - his very soul - and making him completely his. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today really was beautiful, and the trees were in full bloom. Their blossoms reminded him of the ink that adorned Yuuri’s skin. Finding the perfect ledge he took a seat and got settled with a poodle on either side of him. Pulling up the search bar he thought of what exactly he was looking for. It was unlikely he’d find anything under ‘I think my mate and his secondary-gender are two different people’. Maybe something like ‘omega psychology’? He gave it a try and started to browse through the different options that popped up. It only took a few rows down to find something that looked like it could be just what he was looking for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'd like to remind everyone that I'm not a doctor or involved in the medical field at all so there may be things in this chapter that don't necessarily make some sense.....but I'd also like to remind everyone that Alphas and Omegas don't exist in the real world. So. Without further ado xD

“Alright, what the hell happened now?”

 

Viktor blinked. When did Phichit get here? How had he ended up in the living room? The last thing he recalled was being in bed with Yuuri. “I…”

 

Phichit rolled his eyes and sighed, dumping his chin in the palm of his hand. “Yuuri was in one of his moods this morning and you are off in la-la-land. What happened?”

 

What  _ had _ happened?

 

_ The omega rocked a few more times before he sat up straight and reached back for Viktor’s cock. Viktor’s eyes went wide in realization, but he was too late as Yuuri sunk down with a painful cry. _

 

_ “Yuuri...why? Why did you do that? Why did you hurt yourself?” _

 

_ “Because I deserved it.” _

 

“He forced himself on me,” Viktor spoke, his voice feeling distant and foreign. Phichit raised an eyebrow and Viktor sighed. “Not like that...well, like that but...he...hurt himself.”

 

A pregnant pause filled the room. “Ah…,” Phichit’s voice was barely audible. “It’s funny...how much of the real Yuuri has come out since you came.”

 

Funny. Yeah. It was just all real fucking funny that someone had a split personality where one side was fine hurting people and the other was fine with hurting himself. “Is his anxiety really so terrible that he would hurt himself like that?”

 

“Not always. Not...before. Never before,” Phichit corrected himself. “Yuuri never wanted to be in the mafia, you know? He grew up with it, but didn’t want to be a part of it. It’s why he left and went to America and trained so hard with skating. Unfortunately, the mafia found him anyway.”

 

Viktor didn’t care. He was tired of hearing all the excuses without ever giving him answers. Phichit was always so damn cryptic, like he was trying to tease Viktor with some dangling carrot. He was over this game. “Yuuri said I could have access to books.”

 

“Right,” Phichit nodded, getting the hint that Viktor was done with the conversation. “Gimme a sec.” A few minutes later he returned with a small tablet for the alpha. “You can switch between English, Russian, and Japanese and it’s been loaded with payment already so you don’t have to worry about that. The internet feature has been disabled though.”

 

Of course it was. Viktor wasn’t surprised by that fact given that Yuuri had tended to think of everything, but that wasn’t why he’d asked for access to books anyway. “It’s fine.”

 

“What are you looking for?” Phichit pried, disappointed when Viktor didn’t start searching for anything immediately. 

 

“How to please your pregnant omega,” Viktor responded with a huff. 

 

Phichit’s eyes narrowed. “Wo-ow, look at you being all sarcastic.”

 

Curling his legs beneath him Viktor pushed up onto his feet. “Who said I was being sarcastic? That is the point of all this, isn’t it?”

 

The beta only hummed thoughtfully. Whether or not he was contemplating giving a response or simply didn’t have one, Viktor didn’t really know or care. Patting Makkachin on the head he clucked his tongue. “Makka, Vicchan, let’s go outside! It’s so nice out.”

 

“You aren’t going to ask your question?” Phichit called after him. “You guys did have sex, after all.”

 

Viktor stopped and looked over his shoulder. “I don’t have any that would be answered.” Turning back around he reached for the door and slid it open, both poodles bounding outside excitedly into the warm and sunny weather. 

 

“Vicchan is short for Viktor,” Phichit’s voice stopped him once more.

 

This time, Viktor didn’t turn back around, but he certainly paused in his movements. It should have probably been obvious - something he should have already realized by now. Maybe, Viktor thought, in another life he might have found this fact completely and utterly adorable. The ultimate flattery that a fan would name their own poodle after him.

 

In this life, it only made Yuuri seem more like a stalker.

 

Offering up no response he stepped out onto the wrap-around patio and slid the door shut behind him. Today really was beautiful, and the trees were in full bloom. Their blossoms reminded him of the ink that adorned Yuuri’s skin.  Finding the perfect ledge he took a seat and got settled with a poodle on either side of him. Pulling up the search bar he thought of what exactly he was looking for. It was unlikely he’d find anything under ‘I think my mate and his secondary-gender are two different people’. Maybe something like ‘omega psychology’? He gave it a try and started to browse through the different options that popped up. It only took a few rows down to find something that looked like it could be just what he was looking for. 

 

_ Alpha and Omega: The Physiology and Psychology of Secondary Genders by Erik Fechner _

 

Viktor pressed the buy button immediately and waited for it to download. Scanning the contentt page was overwhelming. It covered everything from the basics of cellular organization through nutrition and reproduction. Most of this he knew would likely be over his head, but he took a chance with the omega reproduction chapter.

 

_ “Female alphas and male omegas are the most intriguing of our species, as each have two sets of reproductive organs: both “male” and “female” organs are present. Male omegas do have a penis and testicals though their testicals are rarely descended fully. In male omegas it is the “male” organs that are underdeveloped rather than the uterus and ovaries. Male omegas possess a cloaca which subdivides into the vaginal and rectal canals. ” _

 

Well, this Viktor knew rather well, though perhaps not in these terms. He’d messed around with enough omegas in his lifetime. Well mainly just Chris, but that counted as more than one with all the experience the omega had. 

 

_ “Estrus only occurs in omegas and occurs typically four times a year. Environmental factors such as mental or physical stress and use of suppressants can alter the estrus cycle. Omega athletes have been found to have highly irregular estrus cycles due to prolonged suppressant use and being in high stress environments. Long term suppressant use can also lead to fertility issues.” _

 

Viktor wondered if Yuuri had irregular heats. Was his suppressant use the reason he hadn’t gotten pregnant during his first heat? Would it be difficult for them to conceive?

 

_ “Male omega pregnancies last close to 40 weeks. Their hips tend to be narrower than a beta females’, but during pregnancy the pelvic opening widens fare more than for beta or omega females. These wider hips remain after pregnancy.” _

 

Interesting....Viktor took a moment to imagine Yuuri with even wider hips and thighs than he already had. 

 

_ “Male omegas do lactate. Their breasts do not remain enlarged and are generally small even when lactation occurs.” _

  
Oh. Now, this was something Viktor had never really thought about. He’d never seen a male omega breastfeeding before. Not that that meant much with how secluded his life really was both then and now. Although this information was slightly interesting it wasn’t what he was looking for. He went back to the contents and chose the chapter about presentations.  His eyes scanned through the information he already knew and he started to get discouraged when he came to a certain passage.

 

_ “Although it has been widely accepted that secondary genders are pre-determined prior to presentation and can be determined with various expensive tests, some studies are starting to be conducted that show this might not always be the case. It would be hard to prove in definitive terms, but some presentation stories collected by alphas and omegas have suggested that environmental and social factors could shift presentations.” _

 

Viktor sucked in a breath and highlighted the passage. There wasn’t much information, but it was enough to feed Viktor’s suspicions about his and Yuuri’s presentations. Maybe there would be more if he kept reading or he could find another book that went more into detail? Skipping ahead he moved on to the psychology portion, particularly the part about mental illness. There was the usual chapters for anxiety and depression and he made note to come back to those, but he skipped forward to personality disorders.

 

_ “Borderline personality disorder is a mental illness marked by an ongoing pattern of varying moods, self-image, and behavior. These symptoms often result in impulsive actions and problems in relationships. People with borderline personality disorder may experience intense episodes of anger, depression, and anxiety that can last from a few hours to days. They tend to view things in extremes, such as all good or all bad. Their opinions of other people can also change quickly. An individual who is seen as a friend one day may be considered an enemy or traitor the next. These shifting feelings can lead to intense and unstable relationships” [1] _

 

_...As previously discussed in this book, psychiatrists are now starting to theorize that the secondary gender is its own entity within us. This idea has led to many new studies linking the cause of mental illness with an imbalance between primary and secondary genders. Personality disorders are at the top of this field of study. The cause of personality disorder is not yet clear, but research does suggest that genetics, brain structure and function, environmental, cultural, social factors, and now perhaps secondary gender imbalance do play a role.  _

 

_ ….While some people are born with an imbalance between genders, some are developed - or worsened - by extreme mental and physical abuse. In the case of an alpha and omega, many of the changes in behavior were towards a primal base of their secondary gender that tended to take over. A recent study conducted by a team of US researchers affiliated with the American Psychological Association found that an alpha patient with a personality disorder developed heavier alpha tendencies during her episodes such as heavy growling, possessiveness, and aggression that were lacking her usual personality.  _

 

_.... Despite being easier explained with an illness such as personality disorders, these studies are now raising questions and further studies into the link between gender imbalance and illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.” _

 

“Viktor….? What are you doing out here?”

 

Viktor looked up and over his shoulder where Yuuri was staring at him next to the half-open door. The world was dark around him, the garden lights the only thing illuminating the porch other than the light from his kindle. “I’m...sorry. I lost track of time. I had no idea it was already dark.” Now that he thought about it there was a slight chill that wasn’t there earlier, but being Russian made him almost immune to it. 

 

“Have the dogs not been fed?” Yuuri questioned, and at that both Makkachin and Vicchan sprung up and ran past Yuuri into the house. Food was a word they understood in any language. He spoke softly something to Minami. Viktor figured it had something to do with feeding the dogs which he had neglected to do. Yuuri then shut the door and padded over to the ledge to sit next to the alpha. His hair was slicked back but he had shed his coat and wore his glasses. It might have looked innocent, but Viktor could feel the chill that came with what Phichit called ‘Omega’. “What had you so enthralled you lost track of time?”

 

He swallowed, knowing he needed to tread rather carefully in his answer while not lying. His head was still racing from all the information he had just taken in. Everything that Phichit had alluded to was true as far as he could tell. “From the moment we present we go on with the rest of our life thinking we know our alpha or omega, but lately I’ve started to question if I really know myself and my alpha at all. Sometimes, I don’t feel like we are the same person even though we occupy the same body - the same mind. So, I thought I’d get to know more about myself - or rather my second self - and try and learn more about omegas as well.”

 

A few strands of hair fell from their slicked back hold and into Yuuri’s face as he softened and the air grew quieter - warmer. Viktor felt that significant and quite symbolic. “There are still so many things we don’t understand about secondary genders...about the world as a whole. Sometimes, I feel the same way. Like I don’t know myself at all. I still surprise myself some days. Any big discoveries yet?”

 

Viktor’s smile was small as he looked back out over the garden cast in moonlight. So many discoveries and yet so many more questions. “Maybe...I still have quite a few chapters to go. Some if it is a bit over my head, I’m afraid.”

 

“Well, you’ll have to tell me about it when you’re done,” Yuuri said, unfolding his legs and shifting into a more relaxed posture. “I made an agreement with a rink owner nearby to have use at nightfall if it isn’t reserved for late practice. I’ve told her to send me the weekly schedule. We can go tonight after we eat if you want.”

 

A surprised gasp left Viktor’s lip and his heart fluttered as his full attention was given to Yuuri. “Yes, God, please. I’d do anything to be on the ice again.” Yuuri had a soft smile on his face, but there was something in it that Viktor could read that was anything but happiness. Something like...longing. As if secretly he were trying to agree that he, too, would give anything to be on the ice again.

 

“I’ll go check on dinner,” Yuuri spoke suddenly after letting the silence linger just a little too long. 

 

Viktor couldn’t even be bothered by the awkward moment, mind too excited with the thought of skating. His plate was left half-full, not wanting to eat too much and cramp but also wanting to make sure he had enough energy for jumps and spins. What surprised Viktor most of all, however, was that they were already on the road when he realized he had not once thought about running once getting a taste outside of Yuuri’s walls. 

 

He just wanted to skate.

 

At first Viktor wondered if this was where Yuuri used to skate, and that was how he got access. Yuuri’s indecisiveness on where to go and where the light switches were said otherwise and somehow Viktor felt disappointed by that. The moment the crisp air and smell of the ice hit him it was all forgotten and his pulse began to race. His skates were just as he remembered - if not even more pristine. The sole looked as if they’d had a fresh coat of sno-seal heated on them and the blades were freshly sharpened and shined. 

 

With a deep breath he set aside his skate guards and stepped out onto the ice. The crunch of the ice beneath his golden blades echoed in the empty rink and he bathed in the sound. He started with simple figures and warm-up exercises giving himself the time to get reacquainted with the ice after so much time. Two months. They were coming up on two months, now. There were muscles that were a little weak with not keeping up with stretches and exercises, but he ignored them, too desperate to make use of this time he may not get again. 

 

After a few spins and double jumps for warm-up he took a breather, doing a few circles as he brushed his bangs out of his hair and searched around to find Yuuri. The omega was sitting silently in the stands, Vicchan sticking out from beneath where he was cradled in his jacket. A trickle of anxiety buzzed around his bonding mark and he knew the poodle had been brought along as a rock for comfort. The omega was very uneasy here and yet he brought Viktor anyway. 

 

“Do you have a favorite program, Yuuri?” Viktor questioned in an attempt to ease his worry. There should have been no reason that he felt somewhat sorry for the omega given the circumstances, but it was simply in Viktor’s nature to try and please. “That I could perform for you?”

 

Yuuri was silent for a moment as he contemplated the alpha’s question. “Étude.”

 

“Ah,” Viktor smiled. “That was always one of my favorites, too. Dramatic.” Doing a few backwards crossovers and twizzles he came to a stop in his starting pose for that particular long program. He didn’t need music playing in the rink. It played just well in his head. The steps came as familiar as if this was a program he had done a million times that same day. This was a common favorite among his fans. Why was it Yuuri’s, he wondered?

 

It was half way through the program that he realized with a stumbled jump that this had been the free program he skated right before his presentation. The one Yuuri had never gotten the chance to see in person. Was it a coincidence? Or was Viktor just overthinking it? Many people liked Étude for reasons that had nothing to do with either of their presentations. 

 

While his performance of the program wouldn’t have won him a gold medal this time around, it still earned him rapid applause from Yuuri who was beaming. Vicchan gave a little yip of his own. The smile on Yuuri’s face was the brightest Viktor had ever seen on him. “It was beautiful!”

 

“Well, it certainly wasn’t my best,” Viktor huffed, reaching for the bottle of water on the barrier. “I'm afraid I’m a bit rusty.”

 

That bright smile faded slightly. “I’m sorry...you can skate more often, I promise. Almost as much as you like….as long as it’s after hours and there is an escort available.”

 

“I’d like that.” It was all he could think to say without opening a can of worms that wasn’t worth opening. Like why he couldn't just come during normal hours. Why he couldn't be seen by the public. Because he was kidnapped. Of course.

 

“You shouldn’t over exert yourself tonight,” Yuuri broke the silence. “You are just getting back into it, after all.”

 

Right. A polite way of saying he was done. Making his way to the open door he stepped off, slipping on his skate guards and over to the bench where his bag was. Yuuri stayed where he was while Viktor got to work removing his skates and wiping off the blades. The alpha should be thankful he got what he did. How many kidnap and rape victims could say they were allowed such freedoms…? Not many, he thought. 

 

“Thank you,” Viktor managed to say on the ride back. 

 

“Of course,” Yuuri responded, brown eyes focused purely on Vicchan in his lap who was nuzzling up against the omega’s stomach. “I’ll draw a hot bath for you when we get back. I can only imagine how much your muscles will ache after tonight.”

 

He was right. Viktor could already feel a pleasant ache in his thighs. For a second he worried it would end up like last night in the bath had ended...but his worries were snuffed as he was left completely alone in the water and steam. He emerged to find Yuuri already in night clothes and in bed with both dogs curled up around his center. Viktor joined him under the covers on the other side and picked up his tablet to continue where he’d left earlier that evening.

 

All of the words just ended up in a blur. Viktor couldn’t focus, his mind spinning with so many thoughts he couldn't even discern them. Eventually he gave up, putting aside the tablet and sinking down into the mattress. With a tired sigh he closed his eyes, but sleep didn’t come. Instead it was just a restful state, the alpha very much aware of every movement of his mate next to him. There was something strangely comforting about it tonight.

 

It was hard to tell how much longer Yuuri stayed up, but Viktor could tell when he turned off the night lamp even with his eyes closed and settled underneath the sheets. The omega wrapped his arms around Viktor, his lips just brushing up against the skin on his neck. Viktor didn’t tense up like he normally did, body sinking deeper into the mattress. After a few minutes, with Viktor thinking he might finally fall asleep, Yuuri’s lips started to dance across his skin. At first they were tender, but then they grew more insistent and wanting. 

 

Viktor’s skin fluttered beneath Yuuri’s kisses and a pleased breath passed his lips. Rolling over to face Yuuri Viktor took a moment to really look at the omega. Even the devil looked like an angel in bed, it seemed. Yuuri’s fingers reached up to Viktor’s face and gently trailed down the side of his cheek. Viktor allowed his eyes to close against it.

 

When Yuuri leaned in for a kiss, Viktor accepted it without argument. As pants were discarded, Viktor simply breathed deeper into the kiss. When he felt slick against his fingers, he thought for just a moment about the pills, and then those thoughts were gone as he pressed in on his own. 

 

Even though he was a snake, Viktor couldn’t help but think he was a gorgeous snake wiggling and coiling beneath the moonlight with breathy moans. One whose black ordinary scales turned to the vibrant colors of the rainbow under different angles as they mated.  It was horrifyingly beautiful. Viktor remembered always being put off by reptiles at the zoo or the museums. That was much more Yuri’s thing. 

  
But suddenly, Viktor felt very much in love with snakes. As if Yuuri was the very snake to have whispered lustful temptation into Eve’s ear in the Garden of Eden. 

 

/*/

 

Viktor woke to a pleasant ache in his muscles. Ok, maybe not that pleasant, but the reason behind it was pleasant enough. His feet and ankles were the worst of it with his quads close behind. Keeping his eyes shut he moved into a full body stretch. His eyes opened when his toes hit the back of a calf. Rolling over he was surprised to see Yuuri still asleep next to him. That was unusual. His breathing was very slow and even indicating he was still in a deep sleep. Both poodles were curled up around him protectively as usual. Viktor needed to have a very serious talk with Makkachin about this. Sucking in a deep breath he settled back down into the mattress. 

 

Yuuri’s scent was different.

 

“Busy night, huh?”

 

Viktor tensed up and he slowly pushed himself up to find Phichit sitting on the vanity, legs swinging. “He let me skate.”

 

“That wasn’t the only thing he let you do,” Phichit winked. “Still, weird for him to sleep in this late. Well - I take that back. For  _ Yuuri _ this is completely normal. When we were rooming together he’d sleep like the dead until noon unless someone woke him up. He sick or something? We’ve got a lunch meeting at 12:30.”

 

“I don’t think so,” Viktor answered with a hint of contemplation, “But he does smell strange.”

 

“Really?” Phichit inhaled deeply. “Smells normal to me, but I’m not his mate.”

 

“It’s...subtle...but there. Maybe he is getting sick.” As if the very word had been a trigger, Viktor felt a wave of nausea wash over him. A hand went to his mouth, but it was Yuuri who was suddenly springing off the bed from his sleep and to the bathroom. Phichit quickly bounded after him and Viktor let him, mainly because he was still naked beneath the covers. 

 

Slipping off the mattress he bent down to pick up his discarded sleep pants and put them back on. Cautiously and with a tinge of worry he approached the bathroom. Phichit was conversing with Yuuri in soft Japanese as he rubbed his back, another wave of nausea hitting him. Vicchan was whimpering softly between Yuuri and the toilet, his nose shoved into the omega’s stomach as his tail wagged in concern.

 

Viktor’s eyes widened. The change in scent. The dog’s need to be extra close to the omega. The vomiting.

 

A silent tear ran down Viktor’s cheek. The alpha couldn’t tell if it was out of relief or dread. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] - taken from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/borderline-personality-disorder/index.shtml


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor didn’t know who he was anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh heeeeey look! I quick update! Enjoy!

Yuuri had made an immediate doctor’s appointment to confirm what they all thought, but the positive pregnancy test that still remained on the vanity haunted Viktor. There was really no reason for it to be wrong. Viktor had been staring at it for hours. Maybe it was only minutes, but it certainly felt like an eternity. There were no emotions, just a blank canvas of a man who no longer knew anything about his life.

 

And then there were  _ all _ the emotions.

 

Viktor erupted into tears and sent the pregnancy test flying across the bathroom. Anything that was within his reach of grabbing or throwing was pulled and thrown until there was nothing else to do but just break the mirror. Viktor stopped his fists just shy of slamming down onto the glass, fingers unclenching just in time to lay his palms flat against the reflective surface. Fingerprints left smears in their wake as he finally let himself slide to the ground in a ball. The screams turned to defeated sobs as he hugged his knees to his chest. Despite this, though - despite his overwhelming feeling of hatred and disgust at Yuuri for destroying his life and his career - his alpha pulled his eyes up and reached out for the pregnancy test with glee.

 

Alpha was ecstatic. 

 

Viktor didn’t know who he was anymore.

 

When he felt all his emotions come down from their boil he slowly started to put everything back into place. Yuuri would likely get angry if he came back to see the bathroom destroyed. A pregnant omega didn’t need undue stress. Viktor’s mind went to the child that was now growing in his mate’s belly as he cleaned. How much would be be allowed into the child’s life? Did he even want to be involved?

 

Of course he did. Because Viktor was still there inside him despite the world going against him and trying to kill that part of his essence. 

 

By the time he finally had things back in place and the shards of the cup he had ended up breaking safely in the trash chan he was exhausted. It was mental rather than physical, but no less taxing on his body. Makkachin finally decided to approach him tentatively having been scared away during his outburst. Viktor welcomed it and collapsed into the embrace on the poodle. 

 

“Makka…,” he whispered tiredly, and the poodle eagerly licked at his tears. They stayed like that, Makkchin’s tail wagging side-to-side slowly as she comforted her master in whatever way that she could. 

 

The door opened and Viktor lifted his head. Yuuri was standing there with a smile brighter than the sun. It was a smile that no member of a mafia should ever show on their face. The happiness was so overwhelming through his bond that the sorrow was pushed from his heart. The omega rushed forward and bent over, taking Viktor’s face in his hands and placing a tender but purposeful kiss to his lips. 

 

“Thank you,” the omega breathed against his mouth. “I’m right at five weeks.”

 

Viktor swallowed and forced a smile. “That’s...wonderful. We should celebrate.”

 

“Mm!” Yuuri exclaimed, eyes bright behind his glasses. “My parents are on their way to visit. My mother is going to make her famous katsudon I told you about. I’m excited for you to try it!”

 

It was strange. Like talking to a completely different person. Well...he supposed that how it was. Seeing this side of Yuuri. So happy. But, god, his parents. What would they be like? Would they hate him? “I can’t wait.” It was all he could say. 

 

The light faded and Yuuri’s face turned into a slow frown. “Viktor...what’s wrong?”

 

Quickly, Viktor shook his head. “It’s nothing...serious. It’s just a lot for me to take in, you know? Being a father. I...had never really thought of being one before.”

 

Yuuri fell to his knees in front of Viktor and wrapped his arms around the alpha’s neck in a hug. Makkachin stuck her head between them in the gap at the waist wanting to join in. “You’ll be an amazing father, Viktor. It’s one of the reasons I chose you.”

 

Viktor forced another smiled and bit at the inside of his cheek to keep from delivering an unwanted response to that comment.

 

“I wish I could stay, but I already pushed back an important meeting to go to the doctor,” Yuuri sighed as he pushed himself to his feet. “This weekend...I...let’s stay together.”

 

It was a sweet gesture, wanting to spend more time with Viktor and apologizing for not being there. But did Viktor really want him around? It was hard to judge whether or not it was harder alone or with the omega. Being alone too long left him with his thoughts that usually turned ugly, but being with Yuuri only ended up in confusion and fear. Well...except when it didn’t. Like when he could skate. 

 

Once again, Viktor just didn’t know. He didn’t know anything.

This time, the kiss was gently laid on top of his head. “Be good Makka!” He gave the poodle a pat and left them alone in the room once more.

 

Viktor threw himself into his studies that afternoon when sensei came. In nine months - less than that, even - Yuuri would bring a child into this world and he needed to be ready to converse with it. This kid...other than Makkachin, would be all he really had. He asked sensei to practice a small greeting and conversation that he could use with Yuuri’s parents that night. It was less about making a good impression and more about survival. They were Yakuza, too, after all, even if they were no longer actively in the business as Yuuri had said.

 

“Hey,” Phichit said as he intercepted the alpha on the way out of his tutoring.

 

Viktor sighed heavily. The beta was certainly the last person he wanted to see, even over Yuuri. “Do you need something?”

 

“Just checking in. Seeing how you were after the big news,” Phichit answered, casually following behind Viktor and making no attempt to stop as he entered his and Yuuri’s room.

 

Setting his books and workbooks down on the desk he shot the beta a glare. “You know very well how I’m feeling.” With a little bit of purpose in his step, Viktor marched to the drawer where he kept the pills Phichit had given him and threw the bottle at the beta’s chest who caught it in surprise. “I suppose I don’t need those anymore.”

 

Phichit huffed in amusement. “You never needed them in the first place. They were placebos.”

 

An icy chill colder than any he’d ever experienced in Russia washed over him and froze him through to the bone. Then, in just a flash, everything went hot. Boiling hot. With furious hands he was reaching straight for Phichit’s throat.

 

A strong force halted him in his tracks. Angry and frightened cinnamon eyes stared him down. “Viktor!” The alpha took a step back in surprise and Yuuri hissed at the beta to leave. 

 

Viktor didn’t hear Yuuri calling out to him. All he could hear was the ringing noise of his own rage and fury at Phichit’s statement. How? Why? Why would he do such a thing? If they were just placebos then that meant...that meant...he had wanted it. All of it. Panic started to build in his chest but was squashed by a blanket of a calming scent.

 

“Viktor...Viktor stop…,” Yuuri’s voice hushed him, his body holding him close. “It’s ok. I’m here. It’s ok. What happened?”

 

A unconscious whine left VIktor’s lips as he nuzzled up against his own faded bite mark on Yuuri’s neck. Slowing his breaths he swallowed back the tears. “It’s...I’m sorry. It was just something he said.”

 

“What did he say?” Yuuri questioned, still holding on to the alpha and releasing steady calming pheromones.

 

Viktor’s voice barely seemed real. “That I no longer knew myself.”

 

A pause and a silence. Slowly, Yuuri pulled way and brushed his thumbs across Viktor’s cheeks. “Of course you know yourself. You’re Viktor Nikiforov. The greatest figure skater the world has ever known. A beautiful alpha. My mate and the father of my child.”

 

No. That was wrong. It was supposed to stop after being an alpha….wasn’t it? Viktor Nikiforov, yes. Figure skater, yes. Greatest? Probably. Beautiful? Definitely. But he was supposed to be hopelessly romantic and terribly single where a mate and a child were only dreams. He didn’t have time for a mate. He was too busy skating. Except now he wasn’t. Now he didn’t skate unless it was on Yuuri’s schedule.    
  


Viktor wasn’t Viktor unless he was skating. So, then, was Viktor even Viktor anymore?

 

“I’ll talk to him,” Yuuri broke the silence. “He doesn’t need to be talking to you while I’m gone unless I’ve asked him to. Come on...take a shower with me? My parents will be here shortly.”

 

There was no room to say no, even if Viktor had wanted to. He didn’t want to say no. It was like a high - Yuuri’s pheromones - like being under some sort of spell, and it was one Viktor didn’t want to be released from. He didn’t want to move from where he could constantly have his nose on the scent gland in his neck. Yuuri coaxed him up and he allowed the omega to guide him to the bathroom in his daze. 

 

The feeling of the warm water beating down on his skin broke the spell and he came back to himself. As much as he could, anyway. Yuuri’s fingers were currently rubbing shampoo into the alpha’s hair and he’d be a certain liar if he didn’t admit that it felt good. Viktor’s eyes locked onto Yuuri’s stomach as the soap was worked into his hair. It was soft with a few stretch marks where the omega must have fluctuated with his weight. There was a hint of muscle beneath the small bit of pudge. Soon, it would not be visible at all. 

 

Viktor reached out and placed his palm flat against Yuuri’s stomach.

 

Yuuri stilled in surprised for a moment before lowering his sud coated hands and covering Viktor’s with them. The only sound that could be heard for minutes was that of the shower. Sucking in a breath, Yuuri tightened his hold on Viktor’s hand. “I know this isn’t how you wanted things to happen, but I promise to make you happy. I will do anything for you that is within my power to do. Our baby will want for nothing.”

 

Yuuri’s words were cruel. The omega surely believed what he was saying, but Viktor knew it wasn’t true. Yuuri would do  _ almost  _ anything, but not anything. Was it even possible to make him happy anymore? Even if he were let go, could he be happy now knowing he left a child behind?

 

He’d have to settle for content, somehow.

 

Bringing Viktor’s palm up to his lips, Yuuri gently kissed it and then worked the shampoo out of his hair. They both got out of the shower and dried off, dressing in nice but comfortable clothing. Viktor hardly recognized himself in the mirror as he combed his hair into place. He looked the same as he ever did, though his hair was starting to get long. And yet, the image staring back at him seemed so foreign and so far away. 

 

“Yuuri!!!” Phichit bound into the bedroom just as they were coming out from the bathroom fully dressed and ready. “Mama and Papa Katsuki are here!”

 

Viktor watched as both poodles bound in excitedly jumping up and down around an older man and woman who entered with bright faces. Viktor could tell immediately they were Yuuri’s parents. The omega looked just like his mother. She was considerably shorter and a little portly, but they shared the same face and bright eyes. There were no hugs, but there were definite smiles and happy words exchange in Japanese too quick for Viktor to even attempt to understand.   
  
Yuuri’s father was a little less enthusiastic, but clearly happy. His face was a little more grim beneath it all, though not threatening. Neither were what Viktor expected for former (or still current? You couldn’t really be former) Yakuza members. That was when he caught eyes with someone else. A female alpha. Right. Yuuri had a sister. She looked every bit as intimidating as he would have thought and her eyes were staring him down hard. Viktor couldn’t help but take a step back. 

 

“Ah! This is Viktor!” Yuuri exclaimed, reaching out and tugging on Viktor’s wrist to pull him forward for his parents.“ These are my parents, Hiroko and Toshiya. They don’t speak very much English, sorry. That’s my sister Mari. She can speak it pretty well.”

 

“Ah,  _ yoroshiku _ ,” Viktor bowed politely.    
  
They both bowed in return and Hiroko let out a giggle and a string of words. Yuuri blushed and translated. “She says you’re very handsome and that I should be careful because she might steal you for herself.”

 

“I’m flattered, truly,” Viktor smiled awkwardly. 

 

“Come on, my mother is going to start working on dinner. It’ll take just a bit, but my father brought some of his best sake. I can’t partake, of course, but he wants you to share with him to welcome you to the family,” Yuuri went on as they started to walk towards the halls to the dining area.

 

“I would be honored,” Viktor said almost too excitedly. A drink was absolutely what he needed to make it through this night. Maybe an entire bottle if he were so lucky.

 

“Papa Katsuki can get out of control when he drinks, though, so watch out,” Phichit warned. Viktor shot him a glare and he moved far out of the way with a grin.

 

Minami and another omega Viktor didn’t know the name of were setting things out on the low tables including the sake cups and  _ several _ bottles. Yuuri left him there with his father while he headed to the kitchen with his mother and Phichit. Toshiya said something to Minami and the omega was quick to poor the bottle of sake.

 

Toshiya held up his cup. “Drink, drink! To family!”

 

Putting on the face he had done so many times for the camera before he smiled and clinked their cups together. “Family.” He downed the cup in one go. Before he could get Minami to fill it back up someone tapped his shoulder. It was Mari.

 

“Let’s talk.”

 

Viktor’s body tensed and his flight mode initiated. Talking with this woman was the last thing he wanted to do, especially when her body language indicated she wanted to do it elsewhere. Privately. In a room she could possibly kill him. Surely she wouldn’t though, right? Swallowing hard he nodded and got to his feet to follow.  Mari guided him to a room and shut the door behind them, not even bothering with a light past what still shone through the window from the almost set sun. 

 

Mari didn’t say anything, simply staring at Viktor long and hard. Retrieving a small box from her jacket pocket she pulled out a cigarette to pop in her mouth. She lit it without ever taking her eyes off the other alpha. Her sleeve fell down to her elbow as she held the cigarette up. Viktor could see the detailed ink on the skin. Taking several drags of her cigarette she finally spoke through the darkness. “I’m sorry about what Yuuri did.”

 

Viktor clenched and unclenched his jaw. “Are you?” She didn’t seem the apologetic type for sure.

 

“Yeah,” she answered with a long puff that ended up in two large rings. “The Yakuza are strongly against kidnapping people with social status. Brings far too much attention to the clans. We don’t like attention, and you brought  _ a lot _ of attention.”

 

Ah, well. That answer made sense, then. She was sorry he was an inconvenience. 

 

“Gotta give the kid credit, though,” she huffed. “He covered his tracks pretty damn well. Proud of him for that.”

 

He clenched his jaw harder at the memory of the newspaper article Minami had translated. “If you were so sorry then why didn’t you or your parents do something about it when it happened?”

 

“Because you make my brother happy.” Her eyes turned even darker than they already were. “And all I want in this world is for my baby brother to be happy. He’s been through enough. I am sorry, because this is the exact thing Yuuri fought so hard to keep from happening to himself. But as sorry as I am about how things happened to you, you’re here, and I’m not gonna change that for you-,”

 

“Wait-,” Viktor interrupted her. “Someone tried to kidnap Yuuri?”

 

Mari’s lip drew into a tight, thin line before she took another drag. “The Yakuza call it The Hunt. Alphas find an omega they want and hunt them down forcing them to mate and bond. It’s tradition. My father hunted down my mother just like his father before him.”

 

_ It’s all he knows. _

 

“What?” Viktor breathed the question. Not only was what she described completely and utterly barbaric it simply didn’t add up. It wasn’t unheard of, of course. Such practices were very common in the Medieval times and in some parts of the world it still happened. But, “Your parents seem happy.”

 

“Because they are,” she agreed. “My father is a good man. He might have participated in The Hunt, but he did everything to woo my mother after. That’s a rare thing, Viktor. A rare thing I think Yuuri is trying very hard to inherit. Many of the omegas under Yuuri’s command were rescued by him from The Hunt.”

 

“Then why do it to me?” Viktor barked the question. “If he hated this practice so much, why do it to me?”

 

_ It’s all he knows. _

 

Mari shrugged uncaring. “Couldn’t tell you. Don’t care. As the clan leader he is within his right, even as an omega.”

 

“But you said the Yakuza don’t like kidnapping. This is kidnapping!” Viktor exclaimed, his blood beginning to boil beneath his skin.  _ This didn’t make sense. _

 

Another drag of the cigarette without a single change in emotion. “Usually the omegas are nobodies. People that won’t be missed or missed by few. My brother has high standards. You are my brother’s mate, now, whether you like it or not. Nothing is going to change that with those matching marks on your necks. Listen to me and listen to me carefully,  _ brother _ . You’re going to be the best fucking mate you can be to him and you’re gonna be a damn good father to that kid. Got it?”

 

Viktor clenched his fists, eyes staring hard at the ground as he forced back the angry tears that had started to form. “What other choice do I have?”

 

She crushed the bud of her cigarette against the ground with her bare heel. “You don’t.” She slid the door open. “Let’s eat. And try and look happy. My mom would be very offended if you didn’t like her katsudon. You won’t like my mom when she’s offended.”

 

Swallowing down his emotions he gathered himself and followed her out. His hand reached straight for the sake the moment he sat down on the cushion. Toshiya continued to chatter around him in severely broken English and Viktor did his best to push through and smile on. At least Yuuri was the happiest he’d seen other than the when he’d gotten confirmation of the pregnancy. The omega devoured his large bowl of katsudon and ate what others didn’t finish. Viktor, at least, had enjoyed the meal as well. Yuuri had been right to call it his favorite dish. He gave his compliments to Hiroko who beamed with pride.

 

But his conversation with Mari gnawed at him. Like a tiny little animal trying to eat its way out. Why? Why had Yuuri done the very thing he seemed to be fighting to stop with his army of omegas?

 

Sake poured endlessly and Viktor happily found himself in that perfect state. Laughter and conversation took part around him and he let it happen without a care forgetting all his worries. For a while he was able to simply dissociate from the world around him and be with himself. Then the tone in the room changed. Voices got faster and louder. Angrier. It didn’t matter that Viktor didn’t understand - Yuuri was mad. 

 

Viktor could see it. No, he could  _ feel _ the moment Yuuri regressed and was no longer with them. 

 

Yuuri spat something angrily at one of his family members and slammed his fists on the table before launching to his feet. With one last word he turned around and stormed off leaving Viktor in complete confusion.

 

“Yuuri?” Viktor called after him. What had just happened?

 

“You need to go to your room and stay there,” Mari said suddenly. “Now.”

 

Viktor blinked as he watched Mari go after Yuuri. Turning towards Phichit the beta nodded in agreement. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. He was sure he’d never sobered up so quickly as he got to his feet and whistled after the poodles to follow. 

 

Yuuri didn’t come back.

 

It was one, two, three hours and nothing. Not a peep from anyone. What had been said? What had set his mate off like that?  _ His mate.  _ Viktor shook his head, angry at his lapse in thought at thinking such a thing. He’d come back. He had to. Right?

  
_ Or maybe you’ll be free. _

 

Unable to stay up any longer Viktor shed his clothes and pulled on a light pair of pajama pants. The moment his head hit the pillow he felt weary. Incredibly so. Makkachin and Vicchan curled up close to them, the smaller of the two clearly upset that his master had gone. A dreamless sleep was quick to claim him.

 

Movement in the bed woke him. His flew eyes flew open but his body stayed still. Yuuri’s body was warm behind him, nose burried against his neck. A sudden harsh and vile smell hit his nose. Blood. Oh god. Had something happened with the baby? No...that subtle shift in Yuuri’s scent was still there. This was something different. Looking down on his waist where Yuuri had draped an arm he caught the stains on the omega’s fingers.

 

Soft sobs echoed against Viktor’s back and he felt warm tears on his skin. “I’m sorry...sorry...so sorry….just please don’t go.”

 

Viktor held his breath. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It dawned on Viktor, then, that just because Yuuri was pregnant didn’t mean this hell was over by a long shot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What happens when Snowpocalypse 2018 shuts down your city for 2 days? You write.

It was the longest night of Viktor’s life. The alpha had laid completely still in bed for hours and hours listening to Yuuri cry and mumble words in Japanese. The omega would cling to Viktor tighter leaving bloody hand prints on his skin. It wasn’t until Yuuri flung out of bed for the bathroom with his palm covering his mouth that Viktor finally released the breath he’d been holding all night. Viktor’s hands trembled as he pulled back the sheets that were stained with dry blood. It was hard to distinguish if the need to vomit was his own or Yuuri through the bond. Maybe both. 

 

There was so much blood. 

 

Flinging the covers the rest of the way off he swung his legs over and stood needing to get away from the crimson. Alpha was clawing at his neck to go after Yuuri and reluctantly he complied. Yuuri wasn’t actively vomiting when he entered the bathroom, but his cheek was squished against the porcelain as he laid there limply. Grabbing a washcloth Viktor ran it under some warm water and crouched down next to the omega. He was still wearing the same clothes from dinner, though they were hardly recognizable in the new shade of red. 

 

Yuuri whimpered at Viktor’s touch giving a tilt of his head to lean into it as the alpha wiped at his mouth and face. Viktor’s hand was trembling as he worked, afraid that at any moment Yuuri might come to his senses and finish whatever it was he had started last night. The omega might not try and hurt Viktor consciously, but he was clearly not in a right mind at the moment. With a pained moan Yuuri shifted and was heaving into the bowl once more. Instinctively Viktor reached out a hand and rubbed at the back of his neck, the pad of his thumb brushing up against their mating bond. 

 

“Vik...toru…,” Yuuri breathed, slurring Viktor’s name more than he usually did. “M...sorry.”

 

Viktor relaxed a little at the omega’s recognition of him. The immediate danger seemed gone, at least. “Let me help you get out of these clothes.” He gave Yuuri a chance to respond, but the omega gave none either in concurrence or opposition so Viktor began to gingerly undress him. He had to pause after getting the shirt off so that Yuuri could heave once more into the toilet. Swallowing back his own wave of nausea Viktor simply rubbed at his back and stared at the tile until it subsided. Eventually he discarded the pants and underwear and was left only to get his socks off. The moment his fingers brushed across Yuuri’s ankle the omega jerked with a whimper.

 

Viktor removed his hand. “Are you hurt?” Predictably, Yuuri did not answer. Viktor returned to removing the sock much slower. The skin went from smooth to bumpy and he paused. Looking down he noticed a scar about five centimeters long. It was old. Cold air hissed as it was sucked in through his nose. This was a surgery scar. Yuuri  _ had _ been injured. With just as much care he moved to the other ankle. There was a matching scar.

 

Yuuri had quit skating because he had had surgery on both his ankles. Skating didn’t cause this injury. Viktor was sure of that. It was practically impossible to break both your ankles in one go like that and what would have been the odds Yuuri would have had the same exact injury to both ankles at separate times? This also explained why he was reaching for his ankles after the nightmare. Was he having a nightmare about what happened?

 

There were so many questions. Always more questions and never any answers. Yuuri was in no state to provide any, either. 

 

With another sigh and a rub of his forehead he pondered if he should risk trying to get him in the shower or just deal with a bloody tub. A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts and he looked up to see Hiroko standing in the doorway with a heavy look of concern on her face.

 

“I help,” she spoke in broken English.

 

Viktor nodded and the woman went to work quickly gathering towels and starting the shower and then the bath. She must have sensed the confusion in his face.

 

“Wash blood, then wash body,” she said. “You help.”

 

Ah. Ok. Viktor was going to get a little wet. Well, it was a good opportunity to wash the blood that stained his own skin. After Hiroko checked the temperature of the shower and nodded Viktor carefully carried Yuuri to it and set him down against the wall as close to the door as he could. Yuuri moaned when the water hit, but his head lolled against Viktor’s arm with a sense of security. Hiroko rolled up her sleeves and handed a rag to Viktor as she started to scrub at her son’s closest arm. Together they cleaned Yuuri of the blood and then Viktor transferred him to the bath. Hiroko grabbed a few jars from the vanity and dumped them into the water. 

 

After several moments of silence with both mate and mother simply watching, Viktor spoke. “Is...the baby alright?”

 

“Baby fine,” Hiroko responded. “Yuuri fine.”

 

Yuuri was not fine.

 

“Yuuri need...ah...how say? Blow air?”

 

“Blow off steam,” Viktor muttered. Yuuri needed to blow off steam. Blowing off steam was…a murder spree? It was the only explanation for the blood if it wasn’t Yuuri’s or the baby’s. Hiroko pat his hand with a large smile.

 

“You good mate. Care. I was part of Hunt, too. Still good mate to husband! Love him. You love, too.”

 

No. Viktor absolutely did not love Yuuri. Just because she had been the victim of a forced bond and accepted it didn’t mean he had to, but he could not say that to this woman. To his mother. Viktor did care, though. Too much. It was just a part of him. The part of him that made everyone think he’d be an omega. Viktor smiled the same smile he had practiced for the media for the past 15 or so years of his life.   
  
Once Yuuri started to show signs of pruning Viktor wrapped him in a fluffy towel and dressed him in the clothes Hiroko had brought. The sheets had been changed and he set the omega to rest. A peaceful expression finally graced Yuuri’s face beneath the covers.

 

“Come, come,” Hiroko tugged at Viktor’s arm. “I feed you. Good mate!”

 

Knowing he could not refuse Viktor quickly grabbed a shirt from the first drawer he opened and followed after the woman. Phichit was right outside the door and any sort of calm the alpha might have felt was replaced with a heavy scowl. “Go away.”

 

Phichit kept his distance, but followed anyway. “Just making sure you are ok after what happened. Yuuri was in bad shape last night.”

 

“I’m fine,” Viktor snapped. “No thanks to you. I also believe Yuuri told you to leave me alone.”

 

“What, no more questions?” Phichit tilted his head curiously. “I owe you a few.”

 

Viktor came to a halt and turned around with cold blue eyes. “So you can lie to me again?!  _ No _ . I am done with your games.”

 

“Technically I didn’t lie,” Phichit shrugged. “I told you that they would help your alpha take the reigns. Since you believed that, isn’t that what happened?”

 

It took all his restraint to not start a scene in the middle of the hallway. With a few deep breaths counting down in his head he redirected their conversation. “I think you owe me indefinite questions moving forward. How did Yuuri get the scars on his ankles?”

 

Phichit’s mouth closed to a tight line.

 

“Yeah, thought so,” Viktor huffed. “Stay away from me.” He didn’t give the beta another second of his time, turning his back and walking away.    
  
Toshiya was reading a newspaper at the table and Minami was getting the poodles to do tricks with a bag of treats smiling as both obeyed his commands with wagging tails. As Hiroko shuffled into the kitchen he noticed Mari out on the porch smoking. Viktor knew Hiroko wouldn’t have been able to communicate what had happened last night and he wasn’t going to give PHichit the satisfaction of asking. Mari, however...

 

Viktor slid the glass door shut behind him and leaned up against it. “Mari. What set Yuuri off last night?”

 

Mari didn’t acknowledge Viktor’s presence with any sort of glance or gesture as she took an inhale of her cigarette. “Just a sibling scuffle. Nothing you need to worry your pretty head about.”

 

“A sibling-,” Viktor grit his teeth. “Yuuri came back to bed covered in blood. He killed someone, didn’t he? And you call that just a sibling scuffle?”

 

The alpha let out a snort. “In the Yakuza? Yeah. Pretty normal. You seem a little shook up.”

 

“A little,” he let out a nervous laugh as he looked up to try and hold back the tears. “You may be used to waking up covered in blood, but I am not. Instead, I lay awake for hours worried if I even breathe I will be next.”

 

“If Yuuri hasn’t hurt you yet, he isn’t going to. Look,” Mari started, snuffing out her current cigarette and pulling out another one to light. “You can either keep feeling sorry for yourself and live out the rest of your life in this constant worry and self loathing or you can just accept what’s happened and make the best of the situation. My parents weren’t always happy. My mom was horrified at first. She got pregnant with me at 19 and was thrust into a world she didn’t know, but she learned to live with it. In time, she figured out how to be happy. She loves me, she loves Yuuri, and she loves our dad.”

 

“I can’t love him,” Viktor breathed with a shudder, barely keeping himself together. 

 

“Love him, don’t love him, I don’t really care. You just gotta make Yuuri believe it and you’ve done your job.” She paused to let out a lengthy puff. “Yuuri wants your love so bad it won’t take much on your part for him to buy into it. Make him happy, we’re all happy, including you.”

 

Viktor didn’t say anything, instead wiping at the small beads that had managed to form in the corners of his eyes. They stood there in silence for a long time, neither moving from their post until Mari ran out of her cigarette and decided not to go for another one. A question suddenly popped into Viktor’s mind. “Did you always expect Yuuri to present as an omega?”

 

Mari lifted an eyebrow. “No. We all had our money on a beta. Yuuri was always a quiet kid and sort of kept to himself, but he never exhibited any alpha or omega behavior at all. It was a pretty big shock. Why?”

 

“Did Yuuri ever tell you we presented on the same day? Merely hours apart?” Viktor asked. “I was late and he was early. Everyone in the world knew - they  _ knew _ \- I would be an omega.”

 

“But you’re not,” Mari answered, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. She reached for another cigarette. “These days, certain tests can predict up to 80% accuracy what a kid is going to present as. I guess certain blood levels make you predisposed to one thing or the other or some science bull shit like that.”

 

Yes. Viktor had read all about that in his book. “True, but that still leaves the other 20%.”

 

Mari hummed in agreement. “There’s this shrine maiden back in Hasetsu who was all about the cosmic way of the world. She used to tell people that sometimes mother nature had to correct her course when two people met that match almost perfectly. Maybe she was correcting you and Yuuri.”

 

“We don’t match,” Viktor argued.

 

“Really? Your bonds took without issue and Yuuri got pregnant outside a heat. Sounds like you match to me.”

 

“So what? If Yuuri and I had never met, I’d be an omega and he’d be a beta?”

 

Mari shrugged. “I’m just a crime lord. I don’t know anything.”

 

Even if it were true, it didn’t make sense. “Why not just keep me an omega and make Yuuri an alpha?”

 

“This is a lot of what-ifs,” Mari sighed, tired of the conversation. “What if this, what if that, does it matter? You’re an alpha and he’s an omega. That is that. He’s up, by the way, so might wanna table your thoughts.”

 

Viktor turned around to see Yuuri through the glass greeting the poodles with a smile. Reluctantly he followed Mari back into the dining room. The omega’s smile faded when he saw Viktor, and he immediately felt that fear creep back into him. 

 

Yuuri, however, surprised Viktor by burying his face into the alpha’s chest and giving him a quick squeeze then stepping back and bowing. “I’m sorry. I know I must have scared you last night. I didn’t mean to. Thank you for taking care of me this morning.”

 

Flustered, Viktor tried to think of a response. “U-um...it’s...nothing. What any mate would do, right?”

 

A light blush dusted Yuuri’s cheeks as he looked at Viktor with adoration. “I promise to make it up to you. Come on, let’s have some food. I’m starving and finally feel like I can keep something down.”

 

Viktor couldn’t even produce a response as he was led by Yuuri to the table and encouraged to sit. The omega kept his fingers intertwined with his own. It was a strange feeling and it took several minutes for Viktor to allow his shoulders to relax. Even then, Phichit’s harsh stare was boring into him keeping him from completely letting go of the tension.

 

“Yuuri. You need to hurry and eat something. We can’t wait around all day,” Phichit finally said. “We have the meeting with the Kotetsu-kai.”

 

“Cancel it,” Yuuri frowned. “I’m not feeling up to it today.”

 

“What?!” Phichit’s mouth dropped. “You can’t just cancel it!”

 

“I can and I will!” Yuuri snapped back. “I’m not feeling well and I want to be with Viktor!”

 

“Screw Vi-,”

 

“I’ll meet with them,” Mari interrupted, a warning hand on Phichit’s shoulder. “On Yuuri’s behalf.” She switched to Japanese and conversed with Yuuri. The beta shrugged her off angrily and stormed out of the room.

 

Strange. Viktor understood why Phichit would be upset with him, but acting like that around Yuuri didn’t seem wise...or usual for the beta. Had Phichit and Yuuri gotten into a fight last night, too? Or was it something else? 

 

Maybe Phichit was jealous.

 

It was a silly thought, but a logical one the more Viktor thought about it. Phichit was Yuuri’s best friend, but ever since VIktor had come along Yuuri had seemed to push him aside. It didn’t help that their last skirmish over the pills had turned Yuuri against Phichit at the time. Viktor was getting all the attention. 

 

Interesting.

 

Viktor didn’t particularly want the attention from Yuuri, but right now, Viktor hated Phichit enough for what he’d done to take a bit of joy in it. Next time he was around Yuuri in front of Phichit he’d be sure to give the omega a kiss or pull him into an embrace. Just for the hell of it.

 

Hiroko brought them breakfast - it was just as amazing as the katsudon from the previous night - and doted on Yuuri the entire morning. Even Viktor understood her constant fretting asking him if he was feeling alright or if she could get him something for the sickness. Eventually Yuuri must have gotten sick of it as he grabbed Viktor’s wrist and drug him outside with the poodles. 

 

“I’m sorry, I just needed to get some air,” he apologized. “And my mom was kind of driving me crazy. I hope it’s not like this the entire nine months.”

 

“She just cares about you,” Viktor offered up.

 

Yuuri hummed stepping off the balcony onto the fresh gras. Tilting back his head he soaked in the sun with closed eyes. “It’s still so strange...to think that I’ll finally hold our baby in our arms in less than a year. Do you think...they’ll want to skate?”

 

“Would you want them to?” Viktor countered, surprised that he would even mention skating.

 

“I think...I’d want them to do whatever made them happy, even if it was skating,” Yuuri responded.

 

A sigh of relief left Viktor’s lips. “So...you won’t make them take over the clan?”

 

“Well, that depends,” Yuuri said, turning back around to face Viktor. “Only an omega can take over my clan. But, even if they are an omega, I hope to live a long life. Until such time that their services are needed, they would be free to be who they wanted.”

 

It dawned on Viktor, then, that just because Yuuri was pregnant didn’t mean this hell was over by a long shot. If this child presented as anything other than omega...what then? Would Yuuri even wait to find out or ask for more children beforehand just in case? What if they never had an omega?

 

_ This is a lot of what-ifs. _

 

“Ah! I almost forgot!” Yuuri beamed. “I got us a reservation at Fukuoka Tower this weekend for dinner. They have a private area for us so we won’t be seen. The view...it’s really nice. And the food! It’s good, too!”

 

Viktor gave him his best fake smile. A private room so they wouldn’t be seen. Yuuri said it like the privacy was something  _ Viktor _ wanted instead of himself. “That sounds great. I can’t wait.”

 

“We’ll go to the rink, of course, like I promised. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

 

Licking his lips, Viktor thought of an answer carefully. It had to be something that was realistic and that wouldn’t upset Yuuri in the request. “Um, actually, I realized how out of shape I am after I skated last. Is there someway I can go to the gym or get some equipment here?”

 

“Oh! Of course!” Yuuri answered. “I’m so sorry, I should have thought of that. Of course you’d want to keep in shape. I’ve sort of let myself go over the years,” he sighed and poked at his belly gently. “Maybe I could join you? The doctor said I should exercise when I can.”

 

“I’d like that.” The lie came off Viktor’s tongue so easily. Too easily. 

 

Yuuri shifted on his feet like an embarrassed kid before finally extending out a hand. “Walk with me?”

 

Viktor looked down at the proffered hand. If he took that hand, then he would have made his choice. He would agree to stop asking questions and seeking answers. He’d put his head down and do everything that was asked of him. He’d take on the role of a dutiful mate and father to be. The alpha took Yuuri’s hand. He had decided.

 

Viktor had given up. 

  
  



	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor kept his drinking under control, enough to lose his desire to care, but not enough to lose his senses. Even though the noise was full of language he didn’t understand, there was still so much to observe. The subtle touches, the small glances. It was all so telling in the grand scheme of things. He’d learned to become perceptive where he never had cared before.

Yuuri started to show by week 14. For Viktor, it was unreal on many levels. It was the end of August and by now he’d have gotten his assignments and be making final adjustments on programs prepping for the first competition of the season. Viktor wasn’t doing any of those things. Instead, he was just watching his mate’s belly grow with their child in the almost unbearable heat of the Japanese summer. At least the omega’s morning sickness had seemed to stop, finally. Morning sickness was apparently not limited to morning.

 

Viktor felt like he was going stir crazy most days. Yuuri had kept his promise on the gym, and it helped, but any time Viktor felt like he needed an escape he’d sit outside on the porch or near the pond with the poodles. Now, it was far too hot, and neither Makkachin or Vicchan wanted anything to do with outside unless it was to do their business quickly. God, how he wished he could go to the rink now if for nothing more than the crisp cold air. The mansion had central air, of course, but it sure was working overtime this month and mentally Viktor couldn’t seem to get passed the heat. How Yuuri - a pregnant omega - could continue to wear business suits was beyond him. 

 

He shouldn’t be complaining this much, really. Over the last few weeks Yuuri had seemed to get complacent. They’d started dining in public areas, if you could believe it. Where people could  _ see _ Viktor. Yuuri had even taken him to a few public sightseeing locations, though they were at odd hours. But, of course, Yuuri wasn’t as complacent as he let on. He knew exactly what he was doing. See, the thing was, no one gave Viktor a second glance. No one cared. 

 

The world had already forgotten about Viktor Nikiforov.

 

It was inevitable, he guessed. Everyone but Yakov already believed he’d run away, unable to handle the pressure, and it had been almost five months. There were bigger and better things to talk about in the news. 

 

Living with Yuuri had gotten much easier, at least. The omega’s unbalanced hormones had led to a lot of Yuuri vs. Omega outbursts, but Viktor had found - mainly by accident - that he was able to tame them quickly with his own pheromones. While it was somewhat comforting to know that Viktor had a sort of power over Yuuri, it was equally as terrifying. He could likely use that power to try and escape, but Viktor feared the consequences should he fail. They would likely be  _ great _ consequences. Viktor felt like he had not felt even half of the wrath Yuuri was capable of.

 

Minami was listening to Viktor practicing his Japanese while he fanned himself, only half invested in the conversation. Occasionally, the omega would stop and correct the alpha, but it was done with such little effort that Viktor wondered how useful this practice session even was. Not that Viktor could blame him. Hot summer days were for the rink or a pool, not sitting around a table learning Japanese.

 

“Ah, I wonder if Aniki will let us go to the beach if we asked?” Minami pondered out loud. A light bulb went off and Minami dropped the fan and looked at Viktor eagerly. “Would you ask him?!”

 

“Me?” Viktor blinked. “Wouldn’t it be better coming from you?”

 

“You’re his mate!” Minami whined. “He’ll do anything for you!”

 

“Do you not get days off?” Viktor wondered. “Where you could go to the beach on your own?” It wasn’t that Viktor didn’t want to go to the beach. In fact, that sounded glorious, but it did beg the question. 

 

“No, no!” Minami waved his hands rapidly in front of his face, “We do! I do! But it’s more fun with other people right? Especially Aniki”

 

Viktor hummed, realizing that perhaps Minami’s only friends were within the Yakuza, and he had shown an overwhelming adoration for Yuuri himself. “Right...unfortunately, beaches tend to be very public places. Yuuri does not like us to go to public places.” While Yuuri had been opening the door a bit more, going to a beach in the middle of the day was unexplored territory. 

 

Minami groaned, accepting defeat and knowing Viktor was right. “Maybe once Yuuri has the baby and it’s a little older? Do you think they’ll like the water? Do you want a boy a girl?”

 

He winced a bit at the question. “I...haven’t thought about it,” he admitted. Truthfully, he tried to avoid thinking about Yuuri’s pregnancy at all. It was still too unreal. The more he avoided it, the more he could pretend it wasn’t happening. That was getting harder to do, however, with the way Yuuri’s stomach was starting to grow. “Though, I suppose I don’t really care as long as they are healthy.”

 

_ “Konnichiwa,” _ Yuuri’s voice suddenly interrupted them. Viktor and Minami greeted him in kind. “Viktor...would you join me in my office?”

 

A flash of nervousness heated Viktor’s core. Had he done something wrong? “Of course.” Pushing to his feet he followed Yuuri down the hall, Makkachin and Vicchan prancing happily and unaware beside them.

 

Yuuri didn’t take a seat behind his desk, but instead at a little nook by the window. It looked now like it might storm. A relief from the heat. “There’s something I wanted to talk with you about. Some things that are happening in a few days.”

 

Viktor slowly started to take a seat when he not only saw the way Yuuri’s face suddenly scrunched up but felt the punch to his gut. Hurriedly, he scrambled to find a trash can and held it up to Yuuri’s mouth just in time. It hit Viktor then, while the omega emptied his stomach, how much weight he had lost. Yuuri hadn’t been fat by any means, but he had definitely had a little softness to him before that was no longer present except around the bump. “Yuuri...I thought the morning sickness had stopped? You look thin.”

 

Yuuri sniffed and wiped at his mouth with his sleeve. “Doctor said it’s not unexpected...shouldn't be too concerned unless it continues in the next few weeks. And the sickness has stopped for the most part. I just think that perhaps my last meal didn’t agree with me.”

 

“If you’re sure,” Viktor frowned, setting the trash aside. 

 

Swallowing, Yuuri futzed with his glasses and regained his composure. “Um, anyways...we will be having some guests, soon. From the Geondal. Koreans. They are one of my ally organizations, omega led.” Viktor nodded slowly. “While they are friends, I wanted to prepare you so that you were not surprised. Seung-Gil can be...quite cold and unnerving.”

 

_ More so than you? _ Viktor wondered. “Thank you for letting me know. Should I make sure my presence is scarce while they are here?”

 

“Ah, no! Please, I want you by my side,” Yuuri said. “I will introduce you as my mate to them. This is your home and they are our guests. I don’t want you to hide.”

 

Viktor wasn’t sure he felt thrilled by that thought. Hiding would be safer, no doubt. He knew that Yuuri spoke Korean, so it was likely they would not converse in English around him. What would they say behind his back? Would they laugh? Mock him?  Would it even matter? He was nothing more than a trophy for Yuuri to parade around to others. 

 

“Is there anything specific I should know?” Viktor asked, blue eyes focusing on the dark clouds out the window. “Any way I should behave?”

 

“Behave?” Yuuri questioned. “I...just want you to be yourself. You don’t have to worry about anything.”

 

The first raindrops started to slowly fall to the ground. Viktor internally echoed their sentiment. It was impossible to be himself inside these walls. But...he’d try. If for no one else other than his child. “So...when are they coming?”

 

“Thursday,” Yuuri answered.

 

Two days, then. “Ok. Well..,” he stood and reached for the trash can. “I’ll clean this up for you and grab you some water. Crackers maybe? Or is there some soup?”

 

“Ah, there should be some soup left if you could heat up, thank you,” Yuuri answered. “And...Viktor? Would you...would you stay with me until I finish my work?” His knees curled up towards his chest and his eyes got glossy. “I-I’m sorry, it’s silly, I’ve just been feeling lonely lately and then I get all emotional and cry for nothing-,” a small hiccup left his lips as he wiped at a tear behind his glasses. “Stupid hormones....To think that I ever might act like this in front of alphas. They’d think me weak.”

 

Viktor’s grip on the trashcan tightened. Yuuri’s words were unfortunately true. Emotions were why omegas were often so discriminated against in any sort of position of power. Emotions were the only thing that made Viktor so successful on the ice. Without them, he was powerless. The irony. “Growing a child inside of you is anything but weak, Yuuri. It’s one of the strongest and most incredible things a human can do.”

 

Yuuri sucked in a breath and the way he looked at Viktor with such adoration made the alpha turn around. He was certainly not worthy of such a look.

 

“I’ll get your soup.”

 

/*/

 

The two days passed quickly, Viktor occupying himself on the ice and in his books. It was the most relaxed he’d felt having been allowed almost a week’s worth of ice time in one go. Surprisingly, it seemed to help Yuuri as much as Viktor. Despite his obvious traumatic memories of the ice, Yuuri insisted on going to watch Viktor when he felt overwhelmed. It was a strange enigma just like the rest of the omega. 

 

Both alpha and omega dressed up for the arrival of the Geondal in designer suits ready to impress. This time, though, when Yuuri slicked back his hair it seemed...different. Out of place. Forced. The haunting chill never came and Viktor remained relaxed around his mate who wasn’t the least bit nervous about their meeting like he was. 

 

Viktor’s nerves only escalated the moment the Geondal walked in escorted by Phichit. Yuuri could be intimidating, as could the members of his clan, but not like this. Not like their obvious leader with his dark slanted eyes and hair in a perfectly tailored black suit. Everything about this omega’s appearance screamed mafia, even if he’d seen him on the street in the daylight. 

 

“ _ Hwan-yeong _ ,” Yuuri greeted. “It’s so good to see you again, Seung-Gil. I hope the flight wasn’t too terrible.”

 

The leader stepped forward bowing to Yuuri and responded in Korean. Viktor sighed, knowing that that was how the rest of the evening was going to go and that he might as well get used to just standing in the shadows unspoken to. A short conversation was exchanged and Viktor mostly tuned it out until he heard his name.

 

“Viktor, this is Seung-Gil Lee, head of his Geondal clan. Seung-Gil, this is my mate,” Yuuri introduced them.

 

Viktor swallowed anxiously, unsure what he was supposed to do. Seung-Gil helped him out by approaching and holding out a hand that the alpha shakily took. The omega eyed him up in full, and Viktor thought he was quite unimpressed. 

 

“Congratulations,” Seung-Gil spoke with no emotion. “On your mating and your future child.”

 

Yuuri’s eyes went wide in surprise and spewed out quick Korean. Viktor could feel the short spike in surprise through the bond. Seung-Gil smiled in a way Viktor didn’t like and spoke words that must have eased Yuuri’s worries. Viktor did not like this man, and his nervousness must have been obvious enough to draw a smirk from Phichit as he passed. The beta held no fear, excitedly reaching for Seung-Gil’s arm and chatting away in Korean as he led them down the hall to the formal dining room. 

 

Dinner was as much a glorious affair as one would expect with wonderful food that Viktor tried to keep his focus on when there was nothing else for him to do. Occasionally, Minami would translate a few things here and there from where he sat on Viktor’s left. Seung-Gil was apparently here to get Yuuri’s help in funneling weapons through to China. His normal contact had been exposed, or something. Viktor did little listening after that, instead occupied more by the visual entertainment in front of him.

 

For a man that seemed heavily opposed to any sort of physical contact, Seung-Gil was tolerating Phichit’s eagerness to hang all over him rather well.

 

Viktor kept his drinking under control, enough to lose his desire to care, but not enough to lose his senses. Even though the noise was full of language he didn’t understand, there was still so much to observe. The subtle touches, the small glances. It was all so telling in the grand scheme of things. He’d learned to become perceptive where he never had cared before.

 

It was why he knew Yuuri was going to ask for sex before he asked.

 

Maybe it was because he wanted to feel safe among a potential threat. Maybe it was like a dog’s way of staking claim of its property in the presence of competition. Maybe it was simply the normal pregnancy hormones that made an expecting mother horny. Whatever the reason, Viktor obeyed. While still somewhat of a chore, Viktor was able to find pleasure in his release these days when he closed his eyes. It was something, at least, and a convincing feeling for Yuuri to make him happy.

 

Yuuri slept peacefully after he’d been sated, a hand resting on his his small belly protectively. Viktor, however, couldn’t get out of his head long enough to find peace enough to sleep. When Makkachin lifted her head to give him an annoyed woof he rolled out of bed with a sigh and headed to his favorite spot of seclusion on the outside porch. It was still a little too warm to be perfect, but it was comfortable. 

 

The smell of smoke suddenly curled around him and he went tense. Yuuri didn’t smoke, and neither did Phichit or Minami that he knew of. Mari was not here. Viktor didn’t dare turn around to see who had joined him outside - or had they been there already and Viktor was the one intruding?

 

“News of your disappearance reached even Korea,” the intruder spoke with a smooth chill and better English than he expected. It was no doubt Seung-Gil that had joined him. “Imagine my surprise to find you here of all places. What a catch for Yuuri. Though, I suppose, you don’t quite agree with that view.”

 

Viktor’s jaw drew tight. “I don’t want to be here, if that’s what you are getting at.”

 

“Of course you don’t,” he chuckled. “No one  _ wants _ to be in a mafia. Circumstances make people do it, whatever they may be.”

 

The alpha huffed, daring to throw a glance in the omega’s direction. “You look quite suited to it, if I’m honest.”

 

Again he chuckled. “Good. That’s the point. But I did not want this any more than you. I had no dealings at all with the mafia. My parents were honest workers and I was nothing more than a student. Unfortunately, a student that was deemed fertile with good genes for the Geondal head’s alpha daughter.” He paused, letting out a drawn out puff. “Lucky for me, my wife and mate wants nothing to do with me or the mafia.”

 

Eyebrows drawing together in a frown Viktor turned at the waist to get a good look at the omega in the shadows. “If she wants nothing to do with the mafia then why are you running a mafia organization?”

 

“Well, she couldn’t just up and leave. She was the heir, after all,” Seung-Gil shrugged. “So we made a deal. I keep her father’s business in tact and she leaves me alone while she travels the world fucking whomever she pleases.”

 

“And you’re just ok with that?” Viktor questioned with a snort. 

 

Another shrug. “I fuck whomever I please, too. Besides,” he tapped the ash off his cigarette, “Making a name for myself, even in fear, is better than sitting around doing nothing. It is rewarding in its own way.”

 

It was a conspiracy. The entire world wanted Viktor to be miserable and accept this life. Even people who should sympathize with his position. “It’s rewarding putting drugs and weapons on the street so people can steal and murder?”

 

“Is that what you think Yuuri does?” Seung-Gil questioned with an amused raise of a brow. “That’s what  _ I _ do, but that’s certainly not what your mate is involved in. He’s just helping me this once.”

 

Viktor turned away. “I wouldn’t know. All I know is that he has killed.”

 

“A last resort for him, but often necessary,” he said. “Did you know, that if you go out in the streets of Japan and ask 20 people if they viewed the Yakuza favorably, at least 10 of them would say yes?”

 

“How?” Viktor breathed in surprise. How could anyone view a mafia organization favorably?

 

“Some might even call them humanitarians. A...modern day Robin Hood, if you will,” Seung-Gil went on. “After the major earthquake of ‘95, it was the Yakuza that brought aid to those affected. Not the government. Again, in 2011, after an earthquake and tsunami, it was the Yakuza first to the scene with food and first aid. It is not the common man that Yuuri kills.”

 

Viktor took a moment to digest what Seung-Gil was hinting at. “Politics. Yuuri plays in politics.”

 

“Politicians, CEOs….big corporations of all kind,” Seung-Gil agreed. “They are the biggest evils of all. Yuuri protects the common man. The common omega.”

 

“Through threats? Hurting them and even killing them?” Viktor spat in disgust. Yes, politicians could be vile human beings, but it did not mean that they deserved death. That solved nothing.

 

“I would think you know Yuuri is far smarter than that,” he corrected. “Yuuri has the side of every omega who has ever faced hardship, remember? Where do politicians and Vice Presidents go to spill their secrets to deaf ears?”

 

“Brothels…” Viktor whispered, the puzzle quickly piecing itself together. “He runs brothels.”

 

“It’s absolutely amazing the things those idiotic big-headed fucking alphas will spill in a moment of passion to a beautiful omega,” Seung-gil laughed, the tone sending a chill down Viktor’s spin. “Yuuri helps omegas get off the streets. Provides them with good salaries, a roof, and food. All just in exchange for information. It’s far too easy to blackmail those fuckers.”

 

“It’s disgusting,” Viktor hissed, a small hiccup after his words. “He’s forcing those omegas to exploit their bodies so he can blackmail officials.”

 

Seung-gil rolled his eyes. “No one is being forced to do anything. Goodness, aren’t you such a chivalrous alpha? What a white knight…These omegas can come and go as they please, and not all are subject to the bed. It takes more than whores to run a whore house.”

 

Viktor ground his teeth together in silent frustration and anger. Once again, everyone was trying to paint Yuuri as this brilliant kind soul. To paint  _ Yuuri _ as the victim who was helping others. It was Viktor that was the victim. It was Viktor that deserved their pity! Not Yuuri! Viktor wanted to scream. “All of you sit here and preach to me how you want equality. How you want to make this world a better place for omegas. But making it better for omegas by treating alphas like dirt only makes you just like them! That is not equality!”

 

Seung-gil regarded him with a long stare, offering up nothing but silence for quite a long time. “No one here said anything about equality.” He burnt his cigarette out against the side of the house. “You can all rot in hell, for all I care.”

 

Biting his lower lip enough to draw blood Viktor almost found himself laughing. Of course. Of course he’d be an alpha hater. They were all alpha haters. Yuuri was just not a  _ Viktor _ hater. “And what happens when your father-in-law comes knocking on the door for heirs? What will you do then?”

 

“I’ve already done my omega duty placed on me by society,” Seung-gil responded. “Just as Yuuri is now doing his.”

 

So many questions suddenly ran through Viktor’s head, but the shock left him unable to ask them before Seung-Gil vanished from his sight. Everything was a contradiction. Better rights for omegas, but at the expense of alpha rights. Change the role of the omega, but continue to carry out social duty. Why? The game wasn’t changing, simply the rules.

 

Viktor stayed outside until his head began to ache from the lack of sleep. Only then did he finally move his his weary limbs and silently trudge back into the house. Grabbing a quick glass of water from the kitchen he started his quiet walk back to the master bedroom. Except, it was anything but silent. Heavy pants and moans of passion echoed off the thin walls and Viktor found himself stopping outside a half-opened door. It was one of the guest rooms.

 

Moving himself just enough into the shadow he peaked around the door. Enough moonlight illuminated the room that he could make out the figure on his knees and the figure fucking him from behind. It was Phichit who had his ass in the air and face in the pillows with Seung-Gil’s hands on his hips. Muffling a gasp of surprise Viktor scurried past the room with haste. At first it was the shock of seeing an omega being the dominant figure like that, but then it was the fact that Phichit - Yuuri’s supposed best friend - was fucking another mafia head. 

 

Yes, Yuuri had said that Seung-Gil was an ally, but...was he really? Was  _ Phichit _ an ally?

 

Viktor carefully and silently slipped back into bed, blue eyes focused in concern on his mate’s blissfully unaware and resting figure. There was anger and betrayal. A heavy need to protect. Something wasn’t right.

 

Viktor did not sleep.

 

/*/

 

The next day had Yuuri and Seung-Gil retreating to the office and things returning mostly to their usual fare. Viktor went about his usual routine with the gym and his Japanese studies, and then waited patiently until he could catch Phichit alone. His time came in a moment in the kitchen, where the beta seemed to be raiding the fridge for a snack. 

 

“Does Yuuri know you’re fucking Seung-Gil?” Viktor questioned, leaning against the counter across from the fridge.

 

Phichit closed the fridge door and threw back his head with a laugh. “What? Just because I’m friendly with everyone I’m fucking them? I was friendly with you, once, too, you know.”

 

“So you don’t normally let an omega fuck you senseless with the door open?” Viktor inquired. That got a reaction from the beta. “Perhaps you should be a bit more discrete.”

 

“What I do is my business,” Phichit responded, trying to brush past Viktor. 

 

“As is what everyone else does, apparently,” Viktor huffed, unafraid to meet the other man eye-to-eye as he stepped in front. “For someone who is no one in this business, you sure do seem to have your hand in a lot of pots.”

 

Phichit’s jaw went tight and he leaned forward into Viktor’s space. “What is it exactly that you are accusing me of?”

 

“I don’t know,” Viktor answered truthfully, “Yet. But when I find out, I’ll be sure to let you know in full force.”

 

“What,” Phichit laughed, “Is that a threat?”

 

Viktor straightened, making himself as tall as he possibly could. “I don’t trust you, and I most of all don’t trust you around Yuuri. I may hate him for what he has done to me, but he is the mother of my unborn child, and I assure you that I will do what is necessary to protect them from any threat - including you.”

 

Phichit stared at him with curious amusement. “Wow. Isn’t that quite the development? So... _ alpha _ of you. But you have nothing to worry about, Viktor. I’m Yuuri’s best friend. I would never hurt him.”

 

“Perhaps not intentionally,” Viktor countered. “But rest assured that while you keep your distance from me, I will still have my eye on you. Know your place in this house - bent over for an omega.” Viktor smirked. “Isn’t that what you more or less told me when I first came?”

 

“Fuck you,” Phichit hissed, shoving Viktor to the side and marching off. 

 

Viktor’s eyes narrowed. He really hadn’t had any real suspicions of the beta but now...now he was convinced something else was going on here. 

 

Something that could maybe hurt Yuuri.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was of no real surprise to Viktor that that night he dreamt of a child that was his spitting image. For a good portion of the dream he wondered if it was himself playing in the snow with a heart-shaped smile that mimicked his own. But then he entered the dream himself, scooping the boy into his arms with a laugh. On the way to the ultrasound the next morning, when Yuuri asked him if he thought their child was a boy or a girl, he answered a boy without missing a beat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh! I've been able to update so quick lately!!! Once a week!! I'm not sure I'll be able to get one out next weekend. I have army duty and it's my birthday so I have a bit going on...but I'm still very motivated so hang in there with me!

Phichit suddenly disappeared off the face of the Earth, it seemed, after the Koreans left. It had been weeks since Viktor had caught more than a glimpse. On one hand, he was glad to be rid of the meddlesome beta, but on the other, it kept a potential enemy under a veil of darkness where he couldn’t keep watch. It was equally as hard to keep an eye on Yuuri in the process, especially when the omega was usually with the beta when they were out of sight. It bothered Viktor, but there was nothing he could do. He’d asked Minami about Phichit’s relationship with Seung-Gil, but the omega had only shrugged and said the beta was openly affectionate with mostly everyone and knew nothing more.

 

An apt cover.

 

While before it had been an bother and a stale reminder, now Viktor considered their bond vital. It was how he kept tabs on Yuuri with nothing else to go by. Was he happy? Angry? On the verge of going psycho and probably killing someone? More importantly - was he hurt? Viktor added meditation to his daily routine to focus on the feelings that they shared between them. Occasionally, the bond would flare with a burn of irritation or annoyance, but overall it remained calm. 

 

When they both climbed into bed together, Viktor made a point of asking how Yuuri’s day went while asking appropriate questions. A way to show his ‘interest’ in his mate’s work while really just finding a way to keep tabs on anything suspicious. Though, it was a little hard to deem what was suspicious and what was just normal Yakuza activity. Tonight, Yuuri was unusually silent and not forthcoming with any information. Viktor frowned and was silent for a moment, trying to take in any feeling from the bond. Exhaustion, maybe? 

 

“Are you ok?” Viktor asked. “Did something happen?”

 

Yuuri shook his head and put down his phone to bury himself beneath the covers while rolling on his side. “I’m just...feeling really tired. And my back has been hurting the last few days. I...can feel the baby moving. Which is great, and all, except they like to move up against my organs.”

 

With a frown, Viktor turned off the bed lamp and joined Yuuri beneath the covers keeping a space between them. As much as he’d come to accept things, he still couldn’t find it in himself to initiate contact like that. “You need to tell them to stop practicing their quad flip so soon. Stick with singles for a while.”

 

Yuuri let out a soft chuckle at that. “Yeah...I wish you could feel them, but they aren’t quite big enough yet.” With an irritated sigh Yuuri reached above him for an extra pillow and shoved it up against his back. “Ah, I think I it’s time to start investing in maternity pillows. I was hoping I could last longer, but it looks like baby has other ideas.”

 

“No sense in suffering more than you have to,” Viktor agreed. 

 

The omega hummed in agreement and they let a silence fall over them for a while until Yuuri spoke up again. “I want you to come with me to my ultrasound tomorrow. At this point we can find out the gender if they are positioned right. I’ve thought about whether or not I want to know...I’m not sure. Do you want to know?”

 

Yes. No. Viktor didn’t know, either. If he actually went and heard that beating heart - saw the small human on the screen - what then? Would he ever be able to turn back? Or would he hammer the final nail in his coffin? With a slow blink of his eyes he carefully responded, “I want whatever you want.”

 

“Ah, you’re no help,” Yuuri teased. “I suppose I’ll wait and see if we can even tell tomorrow and decide then.”

 

It was of no real surprise to Viktor that that night he dreamt of a child that was his spitting image. For a good portion of the dream he wondered if it was himself playing in the snow with a heart-shaped smile that mimicked his own. But then he entered the dream himself, scooping the boy into his arms with a laugh. On the way to the ultrasound the next morning, when Yuuri asked him if he thought their child was a boy or a girl, he answered a boy without missing a beat.

 

Yuuri’s doctor must have been an extremely private practice, or the omega had requested there be no other patients present when they came. The office was completely empty except for the employees who didn't pay Viktor much attention, especially when they saw he was a foreigner who spoke poor Japanese. The nurse took Yuuri’s vitals and chatted with him about how he’d been feeling. Viktor picked up a thing here or there, enough to get a basic understanding of the conversation but lacking severely in detail.

 

Viktor watched in silent fascination as the nurse started up the machine and brought out the tube of gel that made Yuuri flinch just slightly as it touched his bare stomach. The second the room echoed with the rapid sound of a beat heart, Viktor’s own stopped still. There, in grainy blacks and greys, was the outline of a tiny human face. 

 

The nurse spoke, and Viktor picked up something about the baby being too small and he looked to Yuuri to translate in concern.

 

“They are just a little small,” Yuuri assured. “Nothing to be concerned about. Probably related to my own weight loss from the morning sickness. Once I regain my appetite it should be fine.”

 

A breath he’d been holding finally escaped his lips. How? How could he care so much about someone he’d never even met? And that he’d made with someone who...Viktor tried not to think about it. Not now. It wasn’t right. He should hate this child, but there was not a single part of him that resented the baby on the screen. Love maybe was not the right feeling, not yet, but certainly a fondness.

 

“Viktor?” Yuuri’s voice broke through his thoughts. “She wants to know if we want to know the gender.”

 

Boy. Viktor knew. He knew. There was not a doubt in his mind. “Only if you do.”

 

Yuuri bit at his lip in thought for several seconds while he pondered over the decision. Finally, he nodded, and the nurse congratulated them for having exactly what Viktor knew all along. The omega’s face lit up, but for only a brief second before changing to a sort of pout. “Ah, no fair...You already guessed it was a boy. I thought a mother was supposed to have intuition?”

 

“You didn’t?” Viktor asked.

 

“Ah, I don’t really think so,” Yuuri answered disappointedly.

 

The nurse finished up the ultrasound and wiped the gel off of Yuuri’s stomach before going off on a tangent about things Yuuri should and shouldn’t be doing. It got too complex for Viktor to follow rather quickly and he just assumed Yuuri would relay any pertinent information. They ended up leaving the clinic with an armful of pamphlets in Japanese and an envelope of the ultrasound photos that Viktor held close to his chest. 

 

The first half of the car ride back was mostly silent while Viktor simply stared at the photographs. At some point, Yuuri reached for his hand and laced their fingers together. “You’ll have to think of a name.”

 

Viktor blinked, turning his focus towards Yuuri. “Me? Don’t you want a Japanese name?”

 

Yuuri smiled. “Katsuki is the only name they’ll ever need from me.”

 

It was hard to believe that Yuuri was letting him name their child. There was a lot of trust in that, especially given his position currently and expected future promotion of Oyabun. “I’ll have to think about it.”

 

“You’ve got 22 weeks,” Yuuri told him.

 

A few names scrolled through Viktor’s head, but none of them seemed quite right. It was a good thing he had so long to think about it. The moment they got back he bought a book of Russian names on his tablet and set it to download while Yuuri downgraded to something a little more comfortable and settled in on the bed with the poodles to get off of his feet. Viktor noticed his feet looked swollen and winced at the thought that for all intents and purpose he was carrying very little weight at this point to have that issue.

 

“Aniki!” A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Viktor recognized the muffle voice as Minami’s. 

 

There was no time for Yuuri to answer, the double doors flying open and a woman with long brown hair and dark eyes pushed past Minami to enter the room with a bright smile. The poodles ignored the newcomer for Minami, swarming around him immediately. “Yuuri!” The beta woman went on in a string of Japanese, Viktor able to pick up a word every now and then. It seemed she had found out about Yuuri’s pregnancy. 

 

“Minako-sensei!” Yuuri’s face lit up and he sprung off the bed and rushed to the beta to give a quick bow. He apologized and went on with what Viktor assumed was an explanation for his secrecy.

 

Minako clucked her tongue at him, clearly not buying whatever it was. Viktor was sure she was scolding him for not eating more the way she was looking at pointing at his stomach.

 

“Mm,” Yuuri agreed, shifting his glasses and accepting the scolding without question. It made Viktor wonder just who this woman was that would feel comfortable doing that around his mate. Yuuri turned to Viktor and held out a hand for him, beckoning him forward. “Minako, this is my mate, Viktor.”

 

“Ah,” Minako looked him up and down with a smirk. “Viktor Nikiforov in the flesh. He’s even better up close.”

 

Viktor did his best to smile at the compliment. “Um, thank you.”

 

“Minaki-sensei was my ballet instructor when I used to skate,” Yuuri explained. “Now she helps me with my business.”

 

Ah. His ballet instructor. No wonder. He would let Lilia scold him to the moon and back, too. What, he wondered, would a ballet instructor have to do within the Yakuza, though? “It’s a pleasure.”

 

“Oh, no, I assure you, the pleasure is all mine,” Minako winked and then her expression immediately turned fierce. “But why have you let Yuuri get so thin?! As his alpha, it’s your job to make sure he’s eating properly! He’s eating for two! That’s your baby in there, you know?!”

 

“Minako!” Yuuri whined, tugging at her arm in a pleading motion. 

 

Viktor wondered if this woman knew just how that baby had come to be and if she’d say such a thing if she knew. Then again, if she was working for Yuuri, of course she knew. And of course, she didn’t care. 

 

“Ah, well, I have some business to discuss with you, though not real urgent. You will wine and dine me while I’m here, won’t you?” Minako asked.

 

“Yes, yes,” Yuuri promised, looking longingly at Viktor. “I’ll see you at dinner?”

 

Of course, Viktor couldn’t say no. “I’ll take the dogs out before it rains. It looked like a storm was coming. See you then.”

 

Summer storms indeed seemed a constant thing here in Japan. The wind had picked up quite a bit as he guided the poodles outside into the gardens. The skies were a dark grey and an occasional rain drop was already falling. Where most people might seek immediate shelter, Viktor found himself finding a serenity in it. The storm reminded him of Yuuri. Frighteningly beautiful and unpredictable in its ways. 

 

Viktor found himself standing out in the in the gardens until the skies opened up and cried their tears upon his body. A few flashes of lightning lit up the sky and a rumble of thunder shook his core. It wasn’t until the dogs started to whine from underneath the cover of the porch that he woke from the spell and sought his own shelter. With muttered apologies to Makkachin and Vicchan he slid the door open to allow them in and quickly sought out a towel in the kitchen. Water still dripped on the floor, the towel doing little to help more than his hair and neck.

 

“Ah! Don’t let Aniki see you like that!” Minami fretted after catching him. “Go change! I’ll clean. Dinner soon!”

 

With a heavy sigh, Viktor nodded and obeyed, opting for a cool shower before he dressed into a pair of fresh clothing. He could smell dinner as he approached the informal dining room, and Yuuri and Minako were already settled in with a bottle of sake in front of the woman. 

 

“Viktor! Sit, sit!” Minako encouraged him, pouring him a full cup of sake. “Since Yuuri can’t drink with me, you’ll have to make up for him!”

 

“Ah, Minako likes to drink,” Yuuri warned. “A lot.”

 

Minako let out a full bellied laugh. “You would, too, if you had my job!”

 

“What is it, exactly, that you do, Minako-senpai?” Viktor asked, doing his best to be extremely polite. 

 

“Oh, me? I’m just the madam of all of Yuuri’s whore houses,” she answered casually. “Or has Yuuri not told you?”

 

Viktor swallowed hard, wondering if he should mention whether or not he’d heard of Yuuri’s business practices or feign ignorance. The look he got from Yuuri was an indication that the omega somehow knew about his conversation with Seung-Gil and was just waiting for him to admit it. No use in hiding it, he guessed. “I’ve...heard of the sort of business Yuuri gets himself involved in.”

 

Minako narrowed her eyes and hummed at Viktor’s response. “And? What are your thoughts on it?”

 

It was a test, surely. Licking his lips, Viktor crafted his response carefully. “As long as those involved have a choice in their profession, I don’t really have an opinion.”

 

“Yuuri,” Minako grinned, touching the cup of sake to her lips, “He’s so smart. So obedient. Katsuki Yuuri...the alpha tamer. No one will oppose you for Oyabun after they learn of this.”

 

“Let’s not talk about this,” Yuuri muttered under his breath.

 

Minako dismissed him, moving on to conversation of Viktor’s ice skating and ballet instruction while food was served. A strong part of Viktor believed that surely Minako and Lilia had met at some point. There was just so much in common between the two of them that how could they have not crossed paths? Even now, he thought they would get along so well in the way they talked about their students so openly and critically. 

 

Minako chatted on in a mix of English and Japanese, the slurs getting worse the more she drank and the further into the meal they got. Yuuri seemed used to it, bothered little by her loud and boisterous nature as she finished the first bottle almost completely by herself. Minako recalled the earlier days of Yuuri as her pupil, going on about what a shy and timid creature Yuuri had been and how he’d grown into the man he was today. Even though Minako seemingly spoke with pride, Viktor couldn’t help but note the underlying bitterness in her tone. 

 

“Ah, I’m tired,” Yuuri finally sighed, having finished a double portion of his dinner much to Viktor’s surprise. 

 

“Don’t let us stop you,” Minako hiccuped. “We’ll be ok without you.”

 

“Fine, but try not to drink my entire stock,” Yuuri mumbled to her, eyeing the several bottles of sake warrily. 

 

“Yeah, yeah, you can buy more, I’m not worried,” Minako waived him off. 

 

Yuuri bent down and kissed Viktor on his head, bidding him a goodnight, before stepping out of the dining room and leaving him with Minako. The woman was eyeing him in a way that made him uncomfortable. In the same way Lilia used to do. 

 

“I always thought this would happen,” Minako slurred. “Well, not like this, maybe, but in general.”

 

Viktor swallowed, gripping his mug of sake tightly. “What do you mean?”

 

Minako tried to sit up better, but almost immediately fell back down onto her elbow. “I was there. I was the one that took Yuuri to see you that year. I was there when he presented. When  _ you _ caused him to present.”

 

The lightheadedness Viktor had been feeling disappeared. “He also caused  _ me _ to present, you know?”

 

“Ri-i-ight,” Minako nodded in agreement. “Guess it was fate, huh?”

 

Fate. Viktor hated that word. Minako gave him a dejected look. A sympathetic look.  “Don’t look at me like that. Don’t look at me like you pity me.”

 

“I don’t pity you,” she scoffed. “We all have our problems. I lost my dance studio, my bar, and ended up the madam of a whore house. If I pity anyone, it’s myself.” She shrugged, taking a swig from the bottle. “Guess it could be worse.”

 

Everyone’s favorite saying around here, Viktor sighed. “No one forced you to become a madam. Or did they?”

 

“Nope,” Minako took a swig from the bottle. “Yuuri did me a favor. He took me in when no one else did. Once Yuuri quit figure skating, kids stopped skating and taking ballet in Hasetsu. With no local legend, they had no one to look up to. We all lost business. Even the local ice rink closed.”

 

That hurt Viktor. He knew how hard it was for small town rinks to stay afloat. To hear that one had closed because what had happened to Yuuri...all those potential Grand Prix skaters that would never be. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

 

Minako stared at him for several moments, not giving off any tell-tale of emotion. “Well. It is what it is, I suppose. The good news is we all found a job with Yuuri. Not what we all were hoping or expecting, but, it pays the bills. Life has a way of dealing you all sorts of challenges and surprises.”

 

“Indeed it does,” Viktor agreed with a soft voice.

 

“Minako-senpai,” Minami entered and bowed at the door way. “Kotome-san is here to take you home.”

 

“Ah,” Minako sighed, setting down her sake, “That’s my ride. Walk me to the door like a good alpha?”

 

“Of course,” Viktor agreed, taking the beta’s arm and helping her stumble to the main foyer of Yuuri’s mansion where an omega woman with a tight bun and large red lips waited.

 

The moment the omega woman laid eyes on Viktor things in the room shifted. She shoved off Minako, ignoring her completely, and sauntered towards Viktor. “Oh, are you Aniki’s mate?” Kotome questioned in Japanese with a purr shuffling far too close to Viktor for his own comfort. She said something else, but the only thing Viktor could understand was something about him being pretty. 

 

Minako’s eyes narrowed in warning. “Kotome.”

 

Kotome ignored the warning, giggling and pressing her chest right up against Viktor, a finger trailing down his face. Nervously, Viktor pulled at her wrist and tried to shove her off, but she was quite insistent. His heart was pounding so fast in his chest he knew that Yuuri would start to sense it if he didn’t put an end to this soon. 

 

_ “Onegai,” _ Viktor pleaded. “Stop.”

 

Too late. 

 

He felt Yuuri’s anger like a gunshot to his neck. It was enough to shock him into stumbling back, a hand on his mating mark as if it could stop the overwhelming emotion. Yuuri was suddenly there in a flash with a hand angrily around Kotome’s throat screaming at her in Japanese. Viktor’s ears rang and his vision turned white as he struggled to regain his senses. When he finally came to, the omega woman was on her knees restrained by one of Yuuri’s men. 

 

Yuuri had a knife to the woman’s bonding gland.

 

“Yuuri, what are you doing?” Viktor questioned with wide eyes. Yes, the woman had been an idiot for hitting on Viktor, but that did not warrant death!

 

“If this whore wants to go around seducing other omegas’ mates so badly, then I will make sure she is unable to seduce anyone ever again!” Yuuri hissed angrily. “She will never be allowed to bond with an alpha and will be reduced to nothing more than a beta.”

 

Viktor realized, then, that Yuuri had no intention of killing the woman at all but severing her gland. “Yuuri, stop, please, don’t do this.” Without the ability to produce omega pheromones, it was very likely this woman could no longer do her job. Then what? What would she have left?

 

“No!” Yuuri growled, tightening his grab on the woman’s hair to expose her neck. “Anyone who disrespects me in such a way cannot go unpunished!”

 

Viktor’s eyes flicked to Minako, pleading for her help, but she shook her head where she stood with fearful eyes. “You can punish her without hurting her like this, Yuuri! Please, I beg you, don’t do this!”

 

“What the fuck is all this rack-?” Phichit suddenly came bounding into the foyer and came to a screeching halt.

 

“Stop him!” Viktor begged, but Phichit gave him the same response Minako did and haunting screams echoed through the house. Out of desperation, Viktor yelled with all his might. “Yuuri!  _ Stop _ !”

 

Yuuri’s hands stilled and Viktor’s eyes went wide as he realized what he had just done. He had given an alpha command. It was something he told himself he would never do. Even if it had meant he might have been able to escape this place, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Alpha commands were his most despised characteristic of alphas. Many progressive countries had even made the act illegal. But Viktor had done it. He’d given Yuuri a command.

 

The omega’s hands shook and his chest rose and fell with heavy pants. Slowly, he turned his head and the look in his eyes was something Viktor thought would haunt his dreams for eternity. “Don’t you ever -  _ ever _ \- use an alpha command on me!  _ Ever _ !”

 

The hurt and fear in his mate’s voice sent a horrifying ripple down his spine and then the unthinkable happened. Yuuri resisted the command. The screams continued and Yuuri cut deeper - harder - than he had been before. It was too deep, with too much blood, and the woman’s skin turned white as her eyes went void of life.

 

Trembling with out of control breaths, Yuuri dropped the knife and stepped back as the dead woman continued to bleed out. With clenched fists he turned on his heel and stormed forward, grabbing onto Viktor violently with a bloody palm and dragging him away from the scene down the hall towards their room. Viktor was too shocked to protest, allowing himself to be manhandled by the omega who roughly tossed him into the room when they reached it. 

 

“I will never be controlled by an alpha! Never!” Yuuri slammed the doors shut and Viktor heard the tell-tale click of the lock. 

 

His prison had suddenly shrunk considerably and his leash reeled in.

 

A sob left his lips as he sunk down onto the floor next to the bed, curling himself into the smallest ball that he could manage at his height. Everytime Viktor thought he had finally seen Yuuri at his worse - had experienced the worst cruelty he could witness…

 

Yuuri continued to prove him wrong. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It hurt. It hurt worse than anything Viktor had ever felt. None of Yuuri’s harmful actions mattered. All that mattered was that there was a hole in Viktor’s heart and it burned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO FIRST OF ALL. If you haven't read the Gift Work for me from Piroco that's basically an alternate ending to this story , called Haunting, then what are you doing? READ IT. IT'S SO FUCKING GOOD. PLEASE.
> 
> Second of all....WE ARE ALMOST THERE, NOW.

Time passed. Slowly, quickly, not at all. Viktor lost all concept of it locked up in the bedroom. It was indeed locked from the outside. He’d checked. That had been maybe days after he’d been thrown in, the alpha far too terrified to approach the door despite hearing Makkachin’s scratches and whines from the other side. He’d stayed by the bed, curled up into a ball and as far away from the door as he could manage. Occasionally, someone would enter to bring him food, but he ignored them and didn’t touch anything until his stomach simply couldn’t stand the starvation any longer. 

 

Several times he found himself reaching out to Yuuri through their bond, alpha begging for forgiveness for his actions. There was nothing. Viktor couldn’t feel the omega at all. Had Yuuri learned to close him out just like he’d learn to disobey, or was he too far away to reach? Unable to even feel a presence sent him spiralling further into depression. It hurt. It hurt worse than anything Viktor had ever felt. None of Yuuri’s harmful actions mattered. All that mattered was that there was a hole in Viktor’s heart and it burned. 

 

Eventually, he managed to drag himself to the bathroom to try and freshen up. His reflection in the mirror was haunting. Clothes were dirty and ragged, eyes were rimmed with dark circles, and his hair - god his hair - had grown too long and was an oily disheveled mess. A warm shower helped immensely. Muscles no longer felt sore and rigid and he felt clean, but his hair was still a mess. A clean mess, but a mess. After rummaging around in the drawers he found a tie and pulled back his hair into a tiny ponytail. With the unevenness of the strands a good portion fell right back out which he tucked behind his ear with a huff of annoyance. It would just have to do. Looking for a pair of scissors was almost tempting, but he’d already been through that round of dramatics before. 

 

Despite feeling a little more refreshed and putting down a full meal, sleep came no easier that night. Alpha was still mourning considerably and couldn’t be silenced no matter how hard Viktor tried. The mating mark on his neck throbbed almost painfully the worse alpha felt. For a moment, Viktor thought about how Yuuri had severed the bond on the woman before killing her. For a moment, he thought about doing it to himself.

 

But he couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

 

Viktor had read enough through the books to know a severed bond was painful and in some cases deadly. He could not have an innocent child’s blood on his hands out of selfishness. Instead, he simply rolled over and closed his eyes, dreaming of the field of snow where he had seen his son and a happier future. They made snow angels and got into snowball fights, their laughter echoing in an empty world. Viktor stared into eyes that were exactly his own in color, but had a shape that gave the smallest of homages to his Asian mother. On his knees in the snow in front of his son he leaned forward to a place a kiss to slicked back silver strands when he felt something cold against his mating bond. His son had a knife to the gland.

 

Viktor woke with startling gasp the second the blade pierced his flesh. Hands flew to his neck finding it completely intact. Hot tears ran down his cheeks and he let out a sound he didn’t even know he was capable of making. Everything hurt and his heart was shattering. He wanted Yuuri. He needed Yuuri. Where was Yuuri?! Fingers were grabbing so tightly onto his hair he was sure he would pull it straight from his scalp as he started to rock back and forth in the bed. Would his son grow up to hate him? Would he long to turn on him like in his dream? Viktor couldn’t bare the thought. His son was all he had to cling to. His only hope in this life.  _ Please, God...please let him be spared from Yuuri’s hatred.  _

 

The alpha cried until tears simply couldn’t be produced any more. His throat was raw from crying and as his eyes dried he saw the red claw marks in his arms from where he’d scratched himself up. Viktor didn’t even feel it against the pain from Yuuri’s absence. All of his muscles ached and it took all his energy to make it to the bathroom to wipe the blood from the welts. And as if this day hadn’t already started out like crap, Phichit was waiting for him in the bedroom when he emerged.

 

“Shit, are you ok?” Phichit asked, staying put by the door and not making an effort to get any closer. Smart.

 

“No,” Viktor hissed truthfully, padding towards the dresser to grab a shirt. He winced as he pulled it over his head. “It hurts...it hurts so fucking bad,” he confessed. “Where is Yuuri?”

 

“He’s...in Hasetsu with his family. Recovering,” Phichit answered.

 

Viktor frowned as he slowly took a seat on the edge of the bed. “Recovering from what? Another murder spree?”

 

“No. The stress from his outburst kind of...was too much for him and the baby,” Phichit responded.

 

“What?” Viktor breathed, heart thumping against his chest. “Is the baby-?”

 

“They are both ok,” Phichit promised, “but the doctor ordered two weeks of bed rest.”

 

Two weeks. “Is...have I been in here that long?”

 

“Just about,” he said. “Sorry for that, by the way. I couldn’t get away any sooner to be able to break you out. Angry Yuuri had given orders and everyone around here is too scared to disobey even when he’s not here.”

 

“Won’t he be mad if he finds out you let me out?” Viktor questioned, not at all thankful for his proposed act of kindness.

 

Phichit shifted somewhat uncomfortably. “Um...he’s a little bit of a mess right now. I somehow think me letting you out is the least of his worries at the moment.”

 

Viktor’s bond started to throb again and he cringed. “I thought you said he was fine?”

 

“I mean, like, physically, yeah. But here’s the thing,” Phichit paused. Viktor felt greatly annoyed by his hesitance without getting straight to the point. “Yuuri usually doesn’t really remember when Omega takes over. I mean, like, he knows he gets mad, but  _ how _ mad…”

 

_ What? _

 

“I mean, haven’t you ever noticed that after one of his outbursts he never brings it up and just goes on acting like everything is normal?” Phichit asked. 

 

Well, yes, he had, but he didn’t think it was because Yuuri didn’t remember. “So what is it you are trying to say?”

 

“Yeaaah, see, he remembers this time and it freaked him out a little.”

 

Viktor felt himself get angry. Unbearably so. “Am I supposed to feel sorry? Am I supposed to be shocked? Am I supposed to even believe that a Yakuza clan head is  _ freaked out _ by murdering someone?”

 

“It’s not really the murdering part that’s freaking him out, but-” Phichit didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence as Viktor stood abruptly and interrupted him. 

 

“STOP. I’m so sick and tired of all of you making excuses for him!” Viktor shouted. “Blaming his actions on his illness and expecting me to be able to fix him! I’m not a doctor! I’m not some magical cure! He needs professional help, not a mate and an innocent child being exposed to this! What if he - what if hurts the baby during one of his outbursts?! He almost did! What then?!”

 

Phichit shifted, hands fiddling with the door knobs behind him. He said nothing.

 

Viktor threw his hands in the air, defeated. “I don’t get it. I don’t understand what any of you were hoping to gain from this. That I could just knock Yuuri up and suddenly he’d be cured and everything would be fine again.”

 

“He’s not cured, but it is helping!” Phichit argued. “The fact that he’s starting to remember stuff is proof of that! It’s subduing Omega!”

 

“Then what?!” He screamed. “He just magically realizes that everything he’s done in the name of Omega is wrong and he’ll apologize and let me go?! No. Fuck you. I’ll carry out my sentence in here until Yuuri returns. But you can give me my fucking dog.”

 

Phichit didn’t say another word, quickly slipping out of the room and closing the door behind the poodles that had been apparently waiting by the door to be let in anyway.  Viktor buried his face into Makkachin’s fur and cried into it. 

 

/*/

 

When Viktor came to again, the soreness and ache from his muscles and chest had disappeared. The throbbing in his neck vanished. His heart felt full again. Slowly blinking his eyes open he gave his body a little stretch and turned his head to the other side of the bed. Yuuri wasn’t here, but was instead talking on the phone in an angry - though hushed - tone by the window. Both the poodles were still in bed with him. When Yuuri started to pace, Viktor realized just how much his belly had grown in the two weeks. It was enough he could easily rest his arm across it as he paced. 

 

The moment Yuuri realized Viktor was up he quickly ended the conversation and put down his phone. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

 

Sighing, Viktor shook his head, though he didn’t even bother sitting up. “It’s ok. It wasn’t you that woke me.”

 

Yuuri was silent for a moment, arms crossed on his chest nervously. “Viktor...I’m sorry. I overreacted.”

 

Viktor stared directly up at the ceiling, one grounding hand on Makkachin. “You killed a woman for flirting with me. You  _ killed _ her. I understand that she is likely far from the first person you’ve murdered, but can you stand there and tell me she deserved it?”

 

“...No. She didn’t deserve it,” Yuuri answered him, voice soft. “I was wrong to do that. Very wrong.”

 

Yuuri’s apology really meant nothing to Viktor, but at least the omega admitted it. He sighed again, blinking slowly and contemplating what to say - if anything at all.

 

“I missed you,” Yuuri said, and Viktor let out an amused huff.

 

“It was agony,” Viktor almost laughed. “The worst pain I think I’ve ever felt being apart from you. My alpha missed you something fierce.”

 

“...and what about Viktor?”

 

Finally, Viktor turned his head to look Yuuri in the eye. “Viktor missed the Yuuri that opened up to him by the pond. The one that let out his emotions but didn’t let them control him. Viktor missed the Yuuri that felt something other than hate.”

 

Tears started to form behind Yuuri’s glasses, but Viktor couldn’t be bothered to fall for it anymore. “What can I do…?”

 

That made Viktor finally shoot up. “You can stop lying to me! You can tell me why the hell it is that I’m here! I have Phichit telling me that you wanted to get pregnant in hopes that it would help control your emotions, but then today he tells me you don’t even know that it’s happening. So what is the truth, Yuuri?! Why am I  _ here _ ? Why have you made me bring a child into this?”

 

Yuuri sounded like he might be hyperventilating, and for a moment Viktor worried for the baby, but the omega closed his eyes and pulled himself back under control. “I know. I do know that I...I lose myself sometimes. I don’t know why Phichit told you I didn’t. I just...sometimes I don’t remember specific details, but I know that I...become someone else.”

 

“So then why not get help?!” Viktor questioned.

 

“I have!” Yuuri threw back. “I take medication for it! It’s in the bathroom cabinet!”

 

Wait, what? “Phichit told me it was anxiety medication.”

 

Yuuri frowned. “What? No. I mean, I have anxiety medication, but it’s always on my person in case of an attack. It’s not something I always take.”

 

This wasn’t adding up. The amount of things Phichit had lied about was suddenly becoming astronomical. More than Viktor had original thought. “Well, I’m not a doctor, but it doesn’t seem to be working.”

 

Yuuri flinched. “Yeah...I...It started getting worse just before...we met. I should have gone to see my doctor...but I got so occupied with you and then...our baby.”

 

“Our baby should be your priority, and with that your health,” Viktor chastised, a more than passive aggressive suggestion. 

 

“You’re right,” Yuuri acknowledged. “Maybe...I need a different prescription. I’ll make it a priority.”

 

“Fine,” Viktor sighed. “But that doesn’t answer the other question.”

 

Yuuri licked his lips and rose a thumb to his lips, biting at the nail as he calculated his response. “I...I grew up in a world where people didn’t fall in love. That’s..not how it worked. You either hunted or were hunted. I...I honestly thought that a mate was just never in the cards for me. I didn’t think love was something I could find that way. But through a child…? It could be unconditional love. That’s all I wanted.”

 

“Then why the change…?” Viktor questioned, voice almost a whisper as he started to become overwhelmed with Yuuri’s own emotions. “Why conduct The Hunt on me? Especially as an omega? Why not just find a donor or adopt?”

 

“That-,” Yuuri sucked in a breath. “That was my plan all along. But…,” he paused and squeezed his eyes shut. After a full minute he slowly opened them and there was a look of determination that made Viktor’s heart skip for just a moment. “I will tell you. No more lies. I will tell you everything.”

 

Viktor clenched the sheets at his sides. “Everything. Why you stopped skating, why you came after me, all of it.”

 

“All of it,” Yuuri agreed. “Give me until tonight, please. I have a lot of things to catch up on from the last two weeks and I want to give you my undivided attention.”

 

“Ok,” he agreed. Viktor had waited this long, he could wait a few more hours. 

 

“I’m sorry...so sorry about keeping you in here,” Yuuri apologized. “Please...is there anything I can get you? Anything I can do for you for the day?”

 

Viktor shook his head, knowing it was a moot point to ask for anything he really wanted. “I could use a good workout, but other than that...actually,” he perked up slightly. “Could I...could I cook dinner? Something from Russia?” It would keep his mind occupied, and...maybe, just maybe, it might make his heart ache a little less for home.

 

“Of course,” Yuuri answered. “If there are any ingredients you need, just let Minami know.”

 

“Sure,” he nodded.

 

“I really look forward to it,” Yuuri spoke before slowly heading to the door to leave.

 

It wasn’t until after Yuuri left that Viktor realize Yuuri had spoken to him in Russian at the end. See? His alpha pointed out. He’s trying. Love him for trying. Viktor pushed down the thoughts and drug himself out of bed. The door had been left open - an invitation and reminder he was no longer locked in the room. With a sigh he put on some clothes and made his way to the kitchen. During the two weeks he hadn’t eaten much, really just enough to not wither away. He made himself a proper breakfast and made note of what ingredients were lacking for the kotlety he wanted to make. His mother used to always make it for him when he was a kid. It still remained one of his favorites, and it was rather simple. Minami was overzealous at the prospect of tasting his cooking, and made a list of ingredients he’d need right away.

 

Truthfully, Viktor wasn’t really sure how good it would be. He hadn’t actually cooked in a kitchen in months - long before Yuuri had taken him, even. He’d asked Minami to pull up a recipe, just in case, but he found quickly that it came back naturally. In the end, he was quite happy with how it turned out, and his alpha especially was excited to see how his mate received it. 

 

Yuuri, of course, had been absent all day, locked up in his office. Viktor had expected it, but it still had upset his alpha. Although the pain and ache was gone, there had been a constant nagging from his bond all day. Viktor suspected it was from the omega’s anxiety of telling his story. He hoped that Yuuri did not go back on his word. He prayed. 

 

As the meals were set out, Viktor also noted that Phichit was absent. That annoyed him more than anything. There were  _ many _ questions Viktor had for Phichit. The beta must have known he was on to him. Why else would he be absent? Granted, Viktor had been on to him for a while, now. Nothing added up anymore. It was like...Phichit had been using Viktor to get to Yuuri. But why? Phichit was Yuuri’s best friend, wasn’t he? Why would he need Viktor to get to him?

 

Yuuri looked exhausted, but he smiled as he took a seat next to Viktor and eagerly dug in. Quickly he regretted not making more food, or at least a dessert. Yuuri was pregnant, after all, and was eating for two. He wondered if during the past two weeks Yuuri hadn’t eaten much better than himself.

 

“Was it decent?” Viktor asked as he finished his own plate.

 

“Ah, oishi!” Yuuri beamed. “Or, I guess, you might say, vkusno!”

 

Viktor couldn’t help but smile. “I’m glad you liked it. It’s simple, but my mother used to make it for me when I was a kid. I always loved it.”

 

“Great ice skater and a great cook!” Minami beamed as he took a huge bite out of the meatball with his chopsticks. “What can’t you do?”

 

_ Escape from here.  _ Viktor just gave Minami a smile. Several of the other omegas complimented him. He’d finally learned some names - Kirayama was the one across to the left. As loyal as Minami was. As they all were. All of them adored Yuuri, like the omega had hung the moon itself. Viktor wished he could share their admiration. Maybe after tonight, he might.

 

“Minami-kun, we are not to be disturbed tonight, no matter the circumstances,” Yuuri spoke after he wiped his mouth with the napkin having cleaned his plate completely. 

 

“Ah, of course, Aniki!” Minami gave a small bow. “Don’t worry, you’ll have your privacy!”

 

Told not to worry about the dishes, Viktor retreated with Yuuri to their room. They were quiet as they changed into their pajamas and brushed their teeth, neither bothering with a shower or bath. There was too much tension between them to relax enough for that. Viktor settled on the mattress cross-legged and watched as Yuuri struggled to do the same.

 

“Oh!” Yuuri gasped, wincing in pain as he touched his stomach.

 

“Are you alright?” Viktor asked with worry.

 

Yuuri gave a slow nod, crawling onto the bed and rubbing his belly vehemently. “He’s really active tonight. I think, maybe...let me see your hand.”

 

Viktor offered his hand and Yuuri took it, guiding the palm against his belly. At first, there was nothing, and Viktor felt disappointed. The heartbeat he’d been hearing in his own ears slowed and he started to pull away. Just before his fingers left Yuuri’s belly, he felt it. The harsh jab of a kick. Viktor gasped.

 

“That...our baby,” Viktor whispered, tears forming in his eyes.

 

“He’s so strong,” Yuuri smiled. “Especially when he likes to kick at my bladder. Ah, shit...speaking of, I think I need to use the bathroom. I’m sorry.”

 

“No, no, it’s fine,” Viktor assured him, still in such a daze from having felt his son’s kick. 

 

Yuuri slowly got up off of the bed and made his way to the bathroom. Viktor patiently waited for him to do his business and return. This time, he crawled to the headboard of the bed and shoved various pillows behind his back and between his legs to try and get comfortable.

 

Viktor helped him get settled and then found a place on the bed across from him. He wanted to make eye contact for this. He had to. “So…”

 

“So…,” Yuuri repeated softly. “Where to begin?”

 

“From the beginning, I suppose,” Viktor offered.

 

Yuuri huffed. “Well, it all started on November 29th in a small beach town in Japan…,”

 

Viktor kicked out at his feet. “That’s not funny.”

 

“It kind of was,” Yuuri responded. There was a long moment of silence.

 

And then Yuuri opened his mouth to begin. 

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The desire to choke the life out of the beta was so strong in him. To make him suffer for all the pain Viktor had endured. That Yuuri had endured at his hand. To tear him apart piece by piece. His nails dug into his palms. Never had Viktor felt like this and it scared him. It was a primal feeling numb to his conscious and it took all his will power to shove it down and let Viktor take control.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeeey guuuyyyyss....been a while...sorry about that. I was 100% focused on completing Footprints, which is done! Yay! So back to it!

“It didn’t take me long to realize I wasn’t going to go into the family business,” Yuuri began. “My parents were getting out of it anyway, and there wasn’t much pressure on me to do it. Aside from that, though, I was just a ball of anxiety. No good for being in the Yakuza.” He huffed, knowing the irony in that statement. “My mother and Minako-sensei grew up together, and so I was put in ballet classes as a way to help my anxiety. It helped a lot, and I really loved it. Minako took me to the ice rink and well, you already know what happened next.”

 

Viktor remained silent, giving Yuuri the space he needed to speak. It was flattering to think that seeing him perform had inspired Yuuri, and yet, that was the thing that had led them here. Or at least started it.  
  
“I started to practice more seriously and got into competitions. I even started winning sometimes,” he smiled fondly. “My parents quickly realized, though, that I wasn’t going to go much further by staying here. I started looking for a new coach and found one in Detroit. So, I packed up my things, enrolled in school, and moved to the US.”

 

“Wait,” Viktor stopped him. “World’s...when you came to see me and we both presented...you never told me if you thought it was just a coincidence.”

 

Yuuri’s jaw tightened. “You and I both know that I don’t. It...it gave me hope at the time. I thought that if the great Viktor was an alpha and I was omega that he might one day want me. It was a silly childhood fantasy, but it was nice to dream. It pushed me harder to one day meet you on the ice.”

 

Except it wasn’t just a childhood fantasy. That much was evident by the fact they were both sitting here now.

 

“Anyway...I started training with Celestino Cialdini. It’s where I met Phichit,” he continued. “We became training mates and roommates. I improved a lot, and even though I was a bit of a late bloomer he had me ready to move up to the Senior division after a year. I didn’t do really well at the international competitions, but I placed at Nationals.”

 

“Seniors is very different,” Viktor commented. “The fact that you placed at Nationals is very impressive.

 

Yuuri just shrugged. It didn’t matter now. “Summer rolled around and Phichit and I both had time off before we started on the next season’s programs. Phichit really wanted to visit Japan and the onsen so...we came here.” He paused, a small smile on his lips. “It was really fun. At first. We would go skate every morning at the rink just for fun. We played around a lot and tried things Coach would have yelled at us for.

 

Viktor noticed how Yuuri suddenly tensed and his hands went to his belly as a means to ground himself. Viktor’s own heart was racing in anticipation to hear what he’d been waiting to hear for months now. With the anticipation, though, was fear, and he was uncertain if it was his or Yuuri’s. Both, maybe.

 

“There was this group of Yakuza...they were young. Our age at the time, obviously new to the job. It didn’t really bother me at first, I was used to seeing Yakuza at the inn, but one took a particular interest in me,” Yuuri swallowed hard, eyes cast down at his belly. “He was nice at first, but when I rejected him he got ugly. Mari had to throw him out.”

 

Viktor could now hear Yuuri’s heartbeat in his ears.

 

“Phichit and I went to the rink the next morning as usual. We were the only ones there that early. Yuuko had given me my own key. We were putting on our skates when I heard the doors open. I thought it was just Yuuko or Takeshi getting ready to open, but…”

 

“It was the alpha,” Viktor finished for him. Suddenly he knew exactly where this was going.

 

Yuuri slowly nodded and his hands started to shake. Without thinking twice, Viktor reached out to hold them. “I didn’t even know who he was. Never found a name or anything...but he knew who I was and decided to make me his prey in The Hunt. Not much of a hunt when he pinned us in a corner without even knowing.” Yuuri reached up and wiped a tear away from his cheek. “I remember Phichit screaming for me to run, but I had one skate on and the other half laced and I barely made it three meters before I fell and the alpha was on me. There was no time to fight or think...his teeth were already sinking into my skin.”

 

Viktor’s eyes went wide. He had expect Yuuri to tell him the alpha raped him, but there was no evidence of a previous bond mark on Yuuri’s skin. “But-,”

 

Yuuri’s lips trembled into a smile. “It didn’t take. It was an immediate rejection. He screamed and spit out my blood like it was poison. The smell of his anger was so strong I for sure thought he’d just rape me and kill me but….what he did was so much worse.” Yuuri blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill and he squeezed Viktor’s hand.

 

“He grabbed a hockey stick that had been left behind at the counter and one of the other guys held me down. I realized what he was going to do when he pulled my loose skate off and tried to untie the other one. I started kicking and screaming as hard and loud as I could. I was able to get him off before he could pull the boot off, but at that point he was just...so mad. He came down hard on my bare ankle...I’d never felt so much pain before in my life.” Yuuri paused, lip trembling as he tried to keep it together. “I was so shocked by it that it gave him the time he needed to get my other skate off and he just...went to town. It didn't matter when the stick broke, he just kept going, slamming the bottom of the broken stick into me.”

 

Viktor let the tears roll down his own cheeks, a mixture of his own and Yuuri’s through their bond. The scars on the ankles. So it had been an injury all along...just not an accidental one. Viktor suddenly had a need to reach down to his own ankles, a ghost pain sending a ripple up his legs.

 

“Everything that happened after was hazy...I was dropping and fast. I think at the end he did try and rape me. I remember him trying to take my clothes off, but Mari and the Nishigoris came. The alphas had apparently come to the onsen that morning and Mari tried to follow them...she was just a little too late. I fully dropped before we got to the hospital, so I don’t remember it...just that when I woke up it was with both of my legs in a cast and the doctors telling me I may never even walk again.”

 

Viktor wanted to scream. Scream for Yuuri, scream for the loss of what could have been the next great figure skater, scream for Mari being just seconds too late...scream for himself. He released Yuuri’s hands and ran his own through his longer silver strands in frustration. “Why? Why after being put through that did you turn around and do the same thing to me? Why!?”

 

“I was angry!” Yuuri cried. “I’m still angry! I was angry at what happened and angry that I’d never live out my dream to see you again! But...it’s not like my first thought was to come for you! This happened years ago!”

 

“Then why?!” Viktor asked again, this time with less sympathy and more anger.

  
Yuuri looked away, wiping at his tears with the collar of his shirt. “I was severely depressed. I fought so hard to walk, but putting on skates again was out of the question. All I had was you...watching you continue to skate. A part of me fell further in love, but a part of me grew _jealous._ A part of me hated that you could still do it and I couldn’t.”  
  
“A part of you, or a part of Omega?” Viktor asked.  
  
He licked his lips. “I think...maybe that’s when it started. When I started to become...both. It was around then I decided I wanted this life. I wanted revenge. I wanted to show people I wasn’t weak. Mari took me under her wing...but I started to surpass her.” He paused to sniff. “Phichit….he never recovered from the incident. He quit skating a year later and came here. He said he wanted to be with me, mafia or not. It helped. To have him here.”

 

Yuuri took a moment to shift on the bed and rearrange a few pillows. “I started going through these phases...one day I’d be so mad, another sad. I guess I didn’t realize what was happening at the time, but...one day Phichit suggested I should conduct the Hunt and...well...I guess that day I was mad, and I thought about it and then I decided that I should. That I should make someone suffer as much as I had, and I thought about how angry it made me to see you still skate.”

 

Viktor felt himself shaking with anger, eyes blinded by tears. “What did I ever do to you? It wasn’t my fault. What happened to you.”

 

“I know, and I realize that now and- fuck!” Yuuri sobbed, another round of tears flowing fast. “I wasn’t going to do it! I thought about - fantasized about it - but Phichit just said I should do it and I did! And that first night was so satisfying Viktor! It felt good to be in power and prove that I’m not just some weak omega!”

 

“I never thought you were weak!” Viktor howled back, moving off the bed to stand. “I thought you were strong from the moment I saw you and I liked that about you! I could have _loved_ that about you!” A pained sob left his lips, and he hated that he was breaking down like this in front of Yuuri, but there was just no more fight left. “I’m sorry about what happened to you, Yuuri, I truly am. I wish it had never happened to you. No one deserves that, but I did not deserve what you did to me and I don’t know if I can ever forgive you. What you did makes you just like them.”

 

Yuuri pulled his knees up as far as he could against his belly, hands not quite able to link around each other. “I’m sorr-,”

 

“You’re not,” Viktor interjected, though his voice remained calm, too exhausted to shout and scream any more. “If you were, I wouldn’t still be here.” He took a few steps back towards the door. “Thank you for telling me, Yuuri. It took a lot of courage to relive those memories, but it doesn’t change my feelings. I can’t feel sorry for you when you retaliated the way you did.”

 

Not trusting himself to not be pulled towards his mate, Viktor didn’t wait for a response or look back as he made to leave the room. As soon as the door was closed behind him he leaned against it and slowly found himself sinking to the floor. Secretly, Viktor had been hoping that after hearing Yuuri’s story he could spew forgiveness and they could have the life he had always dreamt of...but that was just Alpha talking. Viktor knew better. He knew that there was no story that could be told to justify these actions. Even the torture Yuuri had gone through.

  
Viktor was a liar, though. He did feel sorry for Yuuri, and he desperately wished he could turn back time and prevent that day from happening. Maybe then they would have met on the ice. Yuuri could have beaten Viktor like he’d always dreamed of and they would have their army of poodles and a happy marriage. If only Yuuri hadn’t been encouraged to take action…

 

Eyes widened in a sudden realization. Phichit.

 

Yuuri hadn’t seriously given the kidnapping thought until Phichit came to Japan and pushed him into it. Phichit also seemed to be the one always whispering things into Yuuri’s ear.  He was always there when Omega reared his ugly head. Viktor frowned. Phichit had also suffered after the attack. Not physically, but mentally. He must have wanted revenge, too. Maybe...maybe more so.

 

Sitting up straight Viktor started to go through all his encounters with Phichit. At first the beta had seemed to be his friend and ally, but that quickly proved wrong. Phichit was a bait and switch if he ever saw one, promising things and knowledge that only served to bite Viktor in the ass. The pills incident had almost drove him completely mad - the pills. Yuuri said the medication in the cabinet wasn’t anxiety medication, but to help with his personality disorder. And it wasn’t working.

 

They were fake.

 

Why? Phichit had seemed more eager than Yuuri on getting him pregnant to help subdue Omega, and yet, he was keeping the medication that helped away? Viktor wrinkled his nose in disgusted thought. There was also his relationship with Seung-Gil. It was behind fishy. What was the game, here? Was it just to make him suffer? No...most of his actions had to do with Yuuri, not him. It was like...he was after Yuuri.

 

Wiping away his tears Viktor promptly stood with a new found determination. “What are you up to..?” It was late, but Phichit had a tendency to be active at the strangest of hours - another red flag. By now he knew which room was his and headed straight for it. It was difficult to tell if there were any lights on behind the sliding door, but he put an ear up to listen for any sounds. It was faint, but it sounded like a TV was on. Phichit could have been one of those that needed it on to sleep, but he took his chances and knocked anyway.

 

Phichit answered a few seconds later dressed in sleep clothes but not looking like he had actually made it to the bed yet. “What? Is Yuuri ok?”

 

“I’m surprised you care,” Viktor answered, shoving Phichit back so that he could make his way into the room and slid the door shut behind him. That immediately seemed to make the beta nervous as he stepped away.

 

“Yeah, sure, just come right in,” Phichit offered, trying to hide the fact it bothered him. “And of course I care. I’ve always cared, he’s my best friend!”

 

“Do best friends take advantage of each other’s mental instabilities for self gain?” Viktor questioned.

 

Phichit’s dark eyes went wide in surprise and then narrowed in anger. “Excuse me?”

 

“Yuuri told me it was you that encouraged him to come after me,” Viktor explained. “And it was you that was very eager that I get him pregnant as soon as possible. And it was you that not only gave me fake pills, but have been giving Yuuri fake pills, too. Or am I wrong?”

 

Phichit somehow managed to keep a straight face, but his silence was all the answer that Viktor needed.

 

“I also think that maybe you aren’t sleeping with Seung-Gil just for fun,” he added. “So what’s your game? For someone who says he’d never hurt Yuuri, you’ve seemed to have done a fairly good job at it. Why the medicine especially, when Yuuri needs that more than anything else?”

 

Phichit continued to keep his face blank, but there was a slight tremble in his hand that Viktor couldn’t help but notice. “So, Yuuri told you what happened, huh? And now you feel the need to defend and protect him? Feeling sorry for him, now?”

 

“I’m not defending his actions and what he’s done, but I am defending my kid,” Viktor threw back.

 

“Yeah well so am I!” Phichit finally broke. “And the best way to do that is by getting Yuuri out of the Yakuza!”

 

The sentence slapped Viktor straight across the face. What? “Get Yuuri out? By sending him on murder sprees from the lack of his medication? Or are you secretly selling him out to Seung-Gil?”

 

“He told me we’d get our revenge!” Phichit growled. “That we’d go after the alphas and all other alphas in the Yakuza who were part of The Hunt! But we _didn’t_! Yuuri never found out their names or tracked them down! Instead he just focused on saving other omegas and outdoing the other alphas!”

 

Viktor scowled in disgust and disbelief at what he was hearing. “So you’re angry that instead of turning to more bloodshed Yuuri turned to providing omegas a safe place? That instead of becoming like the alphas he wanted to be better than them?”

 

“I wanted those alphas to pay for what they did! Yuuri wasn’t the only one who lost his life that day!” Hot tears of rage filled Phichit’s eyes. “I was never the same! I had no more inspiration and I lost all the love I once had for the ice! I couldn’t step foot inside a rink without having flashbacks of what happened to Yuuri! I came to Japan hoping that with him in the Yakuza I could see the alphas pay! When that didn’t happen, I had to to do something! He hated alphas but not enough! It wasn’t enough!”

 

This was absurd! Far more crazy than Viktor ever thought! “So you tried to turn him into them? Encourage him to Hunt and then unleash Omega so that you could get what you wanted? Then why the pregnancy? That’s set you back. It has helped control his emotions.”

 

Phichit clenched his fists and looked away. “Because I thought nine months would be long enough. It would be enough to find them, destroy them, and then convince Yuuri to get out. I don’t want him doing this anymore! He’s better than this and it puts him in danger every day! He always talked about wanting a family, but he thought he could never have it. I was just trying to help him have what he wanted!”

 

Viktor was angry - no _furious._ “All of this is your fault! YOU did all of this! And for what?! The other omegas trust Yuuri! They rely on him for their protection and you want to take that away from them? What other lies are there? How else are you manipulating Yuuri? If you can’t get him to leave on his own will you have Seung-Gil force him out?”

 

“No!” Phichit shook his head. “Seung-Gil promised me he could help me find the alphas that hurt us! That’s it!”

 

“Sounds to me like he’s using you,” Viktor growled, trying so hard to to keep his alpha at bay at hearing this. “To hurt Yuuri.”

 

“I won’t let him,” Phichit promised.

 

“You already have,” Viktor bit back.

 

“I won’t let you tell Yuuri,” Phichit challenged.

 

The desire to choke the life out of the beta was so strong in him. To make him suffer for all the pain Viktor had endured. That Yuuri had endured at his hand. To tear him apart piece by piece. His nails dug into his palms. Never had Viktor felt like this and it scared him. It was a primal feeling numb to his conscious and it took all his will power to shove it down and let Viktor take control.

 

“It’ll kill him...and it’ll kill you,” Phichit warned.  
  
“I’m already dead,” Viktor hissed. “Isn’t that what the paper said? That you left out? I thought it had been Yuuri taunting me, but it was you. It’s all been you.”

 

Phichit started to panic, and he was stupid. “You can’t!” He grabbed Viktor’s arm to pull him back and Viktor’s hand was on his throat.

 

“Stay away from Yuuri,” Viktor warned. “Stay away from my son. If you’re smart, you’ll be on a plane to Thailand or Korea or anywhere else in the world by the time Yuuri wakes up in the morning.” He let go, a fire in his eyes, but he had more self-control than this. He could walk away. It’s what set him apart from the other alphas. It’s what made him Viktor.  
  
Viktor went straight back to his and Yuuri’s room as he left. It was a place he was sure Phichit wouldn’t follow. Makkachin and Vicchan lifted their heads as he entered, both poodles curled around Yuuri who had finally cried himself to sleep from the looks of it. Viktor let out a relieved sigh at that. He hadn’t realized how hard his heart had been beating until now. Closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths he came back down and the anger subsided, though it was still heavily present. He needed to think this through.  
  
Carefully, he pulled back the covers and managed to find his way into the bed around the dogs and rolled onto his side away from Yuuri. There was no question about getting sleep tonight. It wasn’t going to happen.

 

“Viktor…?” Yuuri’s whispered, voice hoarse from crying.

 

“Go to sleep, Yuuri,” Viktor responded. Yuuri didn’t say anything else. _What do I do?_

 

Yuuri was still the snake, it was true. He was still swallowing Viktor whole...but Phichit had been a mongoose dancing circles around his prey waiting to snap his neck.

  



	14. AUTHOR'S NOTE

I was desperately hoping that I could power through and bring you all proper closure to this fic after everything all of you have done for me. All your support and love. However, it looks like I am not going to be able to do that. After once again voicing a differing opinion from the public after the announcement of the YOI movie, I was told point blank on Tumblr to just leave. So....You know what? I'm going to just leave. I've deleted my Tumblr and now I am working on closing my fics. I was struggling with this one pretty badly as it was, and I had lost all my inspiration, so I suppose this is as good at time as any to just go ahead and leave the dead horse to be dead.   
  
Seriously, though, words cannot express my thanks to all of you who have followed this fic (and my other fics) and provided love. Really, I love all of you!!!!  
  
So, the ending? I should maybe tell you what was going to happen, no? You all deserve at least that.  
  
Yuuri would have eventually allowed Viktor to leave, but Viktor being the man he is doesn't feel right leaving his child in the hands of someone who can cause the damage that Yuuri can. So, to draw some parallels to Omerta, Viktor was going to pull a similar 'I am Pakhan, now' sort of event where he demanded part in Yuuri's work where he would no longer be controlled or ordered around. Viktor would be allowed to contact Yakov and Yurio again. See the outside world. But they would remain together for Vitaly's sake. It wasn't really love. It never could be. But they try. 

I wish I could leave you all with a 'hey come follow me on twitter or tumblr!' but there is none of that left. Just what I leave behind here. I hope you all find some amazing new fics to follow and really enjoy the new movie where I cannot.   
  
LOVE YOU AND TAKE CARE <3 <3 <3

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr @kashoku-sinpai

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Both Born Today](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10897896) by [margott](https://archiveofourown.org/users/margott/pseuds/margott)
  * [Apathy with Notes (All Notes)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11776872) by [Trashcan Queen (Megan_is_MIA)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megan_is_MIA/pseuds/Trashcan%20Queen)
  * [Haunting](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13715568) by [Piroco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piroco/pseuds/Piroco)




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